Ulajh Review: Tangled Tale of Treachery and Twists
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Suhana Bhatia is a daddy’s girl, determined to prove her worth as an IFS officer, placing her work over everything else to make her family of career diplomats proud. So, when a big promotion comes her way, she becomes a pawn in a political conspiracy involving India and Pakistan.
Directed by Sudhanshu Saria (‘Sanaa’/’Big Girls Don’t Cry’), the 2024 Bollywood thriller ‘Ulajh’ stars Janhvi Kapoor as Suhana, the protagonist who gets mixed up in a high-stakes plot whose true scale she cannot even fathom—at least not in the beginning.
Roshan Mathew and Meiyang Chang play Suhana’s frosty colleagues Sebin Kutty and Jacob Tamang, who both think she stole Tamang’s position through nepotism and family links. Gulshan Devaiah plays Suhana’s potential love interest Nakul, a multilingual chef who charms her soon after her arrival in London.
The first big twist of “Ulajh” is predictable and borderline infuriating (at least for women viewers) due to its datedness, but, well, it looks like some old tropes never go out of fashion. Without giving away a spoiler, I’ll just say that Suhana finds herself in the same situation that triggers all the unfortunate events in the popular thriller “Drishyam” (the first one).
‘Ulajh’ strikes a disparate balance between reality and exaggeration; while some scenes are engaging and believable, there are many other parts that are far too absurd. For instance, towards the second half, Suhana and another character go on a very Mission: Impossible-style trip to figure out a mole in RAW and uncover their dastardly plot. Blackmail, unexpected murders, and assassination attempts are peppered throughout the film.
Gulshan Devaiah is fantastic as the chameleon-like Nakul, while Janhvi Kapoor is adequately convincing as a woman who is too young for the high-ranking promotion she receives. Suhana is shown as a serious patriot who gets trapped in dangerous quicksand that forces her into committing treason. Malayalam star Roshan Mathew’s (‘Night Drive’/ ‘Darlings’) character Sebin Kutty, comes to the forefront in the second half of ‘Ulajh,’ where his and Suhana’s paths collide as they are both on their own personal missions. Sebin starts off as an angry, sexist, young man, who cannot stand Suhana, but is able to be professional when the need arises. One of the most fun scenes in ‘Ulajh’ was were Sebin suddenly breaks into a rant in Malayalam because he is frustrated over things going south for him.
The music of ‘Ulajh’ is an eclectic mix – the song that plays while Nakul courts Suhana doesn’t sync well with their romance. However, a Sufi-themed track—a soulful song called ‘Ilahi Mere Rubaroo,’ composed by Shashwat Sachdev—at the end of the film blends perfectly with the onscreen events.
The climax is predictable, far-fetched, and ‘filmy’ if you must, but overall, it’s a pretty entertaining thriller that is gripping for the most part.
Rating: 6 out of 10. You can watch ‘Ulajh’ on Netflix.
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