Written by Sanchit Gupta and Priyadarshee Srivastava, Ground Zero is based on true events in the life of BSF officer Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey who led an operation in which the most-wanted terrorist back in the day Ghazi Baba, the chief accused of the parliamentary attacks of 2001, was finally killed in 2003. And despite being essentially an army film, I was pleasantly surprised with the sensitivity brought across by the writing that didn’t tag the supposed terrorists to any religion or country, almost consciously aspiring to address them in isolation without the baggage accompanying their identity. That for me was a huge win, and a huge step ahead for films in this genre. One of the reasons also why this film works is because the heroics of the protagonist is more incidental given his circumstances, than being an individual filled with nationalism and jingoism. Yes, he is nationalistic but it stems from a very intimate and personal space.

Narendra Dubey is a man that doesn’t believe in following too many protocols. In his opening sequence, he is willing to risk his life for the greater good of wanting to protect his team during a shootout. He is a family man who enjoys spending time with his understanding wife Jaya (Sai Tamhankar) and his young daughter, but the Shakespearean tragedy of the valley also extends to his family. In a scene, you see the protagonist’s daughter confiding in him on how she doesn’t like armed men accompanying her to school, and that if given a chance she would prefer Santa Claus. This innocent line sums up the state of affairs in the valley perfectly, even as a reluctant protagonist makes a promise to his daughter. You can gauge that Dubey prefers peace more than anything else, not only for his country but also his own family and for the future that he foresees for his daughter.

You also see an interesting aspect of Dubey’s character when he interacts with his juniors. In a scene, you literally see his peers engulfing him before restricting themselves to a generic greeting. You do understand that for his juniors, Dubey is more than a friend, and more of a confidant and a brother-figure in their lives, just like a family away from their own families. But the same doesn’t hold true during Dubey’s interactions with the authorities above him. In a scene during a heated argument involving the capture of Ghazi Baba, you see the IB chief mockingly referring to Dubey as ‘James Bond’, a sentiment that isn’t countered by Sanjiv (Mukesh Tiwari), the grumpy first-in-command of the BSF regiment. Clearly for Dubey, the obstacles go far beyond his footprints on the battle field – he needs to fight arrogance filled red-tape and authorities who prefer going by the protocols without indulging in swift actions.

You are also witness to a sense of empathy on the part of Dubey, even as he shares a warm equation with Husain (Mir Mehrooz), a local who was hired to kill him. He doesn’t prefer to teach Husain a lesson by hunting him down (despite catching him red-handed) and later torturing his family. He believes in handing out second chances to reform, reflect and improve wherein he takes him within his wings while also asking him to pass on crucial information to him. Just like his juniors, Husain belives Dubey to be his elder brother, a relationship that is destined to end on a sad note. In a scene, you are witness to the vulnerability of Dubey after witnessing an explosion that marked the death of an important character. You see him equating the stray pieces of human flesh to the people of the valley who have been facing atrocities for a long time now. This, while challenging the claims of his superiors labelling the death of the character to be a ‘terrorist’, when the reality was otherwise. Hence, the conflict for Dubey was as much internal as it was external, an important trait that matched his sedated intensity in the drama.

The broader strokes in the drama are reserved for the cat and mouse chase that unfolds during Dubey’s quest to hunt down Ghazi Baba (Rockey Raina). And I call this broad stroked because it follows some convenient beats in the screenplay (which is fine, it is still intense). The issue for me was that the stray attacks on the Parliament or even the Akshardham Temple that were showcased were fleeting moments that played out in the backdrop. What that did was, it didn’t exactly elevate the looming threat in the drama, something that would have added another layer of urgency. Because the POV did not switch, and you aren’t quite acquainted with Ghazi Baba in his personal space (well briefly you are to be fair even as he slices the throat of a character, without the camera panning on his face), the threat remains restricted. It was just a minor hiccup in an otherwise well written screenplay.

The final act and the events leading upto it also present a layered take on nationalism featuring the protagonist who has consistently been disillusioned by the works of the system. He wishes to resign from the force only to be blackmailed on a guilt trip of quitting the valley without making it a heaven. His reply is simple – “Bhaad Mein Gayi Jannat”, only for him to reflect on his decision following his interactions with his junior. Elsewhere, even when questioned about the protagonist’s inability to save his own men, Jaya, his wife exclaims that the question should be redirected towards people who pick up guns. This humanized the personalities of soldiers beautifully while also extending its momentum to the engaging and supremely gritty finale that resembled the events in Zero Dark Thirty (2012). The emotional core was definitely intact with a restraint measure of steering away from jingoism, that becomes a necessary trope in war films. And that refreshingly sums up the screenplay that is measured yet engaging thereby resulting in a gritty watch.