Ground Zero review: A powerful Kashmir story that brings humanity to a valley too often defined by bloodshed!

It might be purely coincidental that the film becomes a commentary it never set out to be, but given the current situation in Kashmir, it feels not only timely but necessary.

Kashmir, often romanticized as a paradise on earth, remains tragically intertwined with the darkest poetic irony: blood, war, and diplomacy. It is a land where human lives struggle to survive the politics of borders and ideological warfare. Any narrative emerging from this region is inevitably laced with the socio-political and cultural complexities that define it. Which is why any story from Kashmir cannot exist in a vacuum; they bear the scars of history and the shadows of ongoing conflict. And following the recent attack in Pahalgam, the tension becomes even more palpable. The wounds are fresh, the nation is grieving, and in the wake of such tragedy, rage often overtakes reason. Words like revenge dangerously blur into ideas of justice.

This is why Ground Zero becomes more compelling than it intends. It intentionally may not have set out to become a defining statement on Kashmir, but it inadvertently does just that. It's a reminder of cinema’s power to transcend the moment and reflect universal truths. This film is inspired by the real-life story of BSF officer Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey (Emraan Hashmi), who led the operation that killed Ghazi Baba - the Jaish-e-Mohammed commander responsible for the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the 2002 Akshardham Temple siege. Dubey isn’t the larger-than-life soldier we’re so used to seeing on screen. He doesn’t deliver bombastic monologues or engage in hyper-stylized combat. He’s simply an army man posted in a communally sensitive region - a place where insurgency feeds off poverty and radicalisation becomes an everyday recruitment drive. Even local markets and tourist spots remain unsafe with the sound of gunfire met with fear and a weary resignation by locals.

Dubey persists as a loyal soldier with a conscience, performing a life-threatening job where his comrades die unexpectedly and the system he serves doesn’t always serve him back. Despite being an army man, practically an outsider for Kashmiri’s, he empathizes with the locals around him - recognizing that they are just as caught in the crossfire between nations and narratives as he is. He believes that in Kashmir there are always opportunities. So, when the threat to the Prime Minister’s life offers a chance to catch a dreaded terrorist, it becomes his moment - not for personal glory but as a part of a profound pursuit of redemption where "Kashmir ka badla Ghazi nahi fauji lega".

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After a long hiatus, Ground Zero brings back the story of a soldier without succumbing to loud, nationalistic jingoism, eschewing the conventional trappings of the patriotic action genre. Instead of treating its subject with over-the-top fervor, the film helmed by director Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar and written by Sanchit Gupta and Priyadarshee Srivastava chooses a subtler path. The screenplay weaves the tension of action and life of army men into building the emotional and socio-political fabric of Kashmir. The cat-and-mouse game between the army and terrorists is shown not just through guns and tactics, but through the lanes of understanding Kashmir. It offers insights into why a local boy might be swayed to pick up a gun instead of a paintbrush and how living in constant fear can kill humanity.

Dubey’s patriotism is more than loyally fighting on the border; it is deeply personal. His battle isn’t just for national pride - it’s a fight for comrades, innocent civilians and a fragile hope for peace. He questions rigid bureaucracy, doubts central intelligence, accepts his own mistakes and dreams of making Kashmir a place where Santa Claus visits children, not militants with weapons. He isn’t portrayed as a cinematic hero, he’s a man with courage and conviction guided by his instincts. For instance, he spares the life of a radical handler poised to shoot him not out of mercy, but because he sees the possibility of reform and doesn’t just unradicalise him; he converts him into an asset for peace. At the same time, he is also a soldier who breaks and gets frustrated in fighting everyone and everything and wants to give up and leave Kashmir to whoever claims it next. Emraan Hashmi's raw magnetism becomes a pitch-perfect choice for this role as he is free from star baggage and brings an emotional intensity to the role, anchoring Dubey with quiet dignity and rootedness.

It also states that the film isn’t chasing moments of grandeur, they happen organically, almost incidental. That’s not to say that Ground Zero doesn’t dramatize. The missions are intense, the thrill palpable and the chase sequences gripping with thundering BGM. But unlike others in the genre, it doesn’t resort to excessive stereotyping or moral grandstanding. Its moments of ‘woke’ commentary may seem simplistic, but perhaps that’s the point because the film subtly reminds us that the trigger-pullers are not the real problem; it’s the ones handing out the guns who are truly culpable. And in doing so, it shows trusts on its audience presenting its themes with nuance rather than preaching. 

The coincidental timing of the film adds to its weight. The urgency is unintentional but unmistakable. Ground Zero becomes a film not just about action or war but about the fragile complex threads holding a land and its people together. Its themes are timeless, its conflict perennial. But the courage it portrays is lonely not in the service of flag-waving, but in pursuit of a more human kind of patriotism. It’s the catharsis we need now, one that doesn’t scream for blood, but asks us to think, pause, and recognize that Kashmir isn’t just a piece of land to be owned, its people are ours as well. And perhaps no one could explain this better than a soldier who stands watch - one moment doing parehdari, and the next, prahar. 

Ground Zero is currently running in theatres near you.

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