The Diplomat

Clad in a full black burqa and looking like Kashmiri jihadi Ashiya Andrabi, a young woman desperately seeks asylum and help from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. Is Uzma Ahmed (Sadia Khateeb) a plant, a suicide bomber or a genuine case for humanitarian aid from the Indian Embassy? Does her story ring true? She’s an educated Indian, job hunting in Malaysia, who fell in love with Pakistani taxi driver Tahir (Jagjeet Sandhu) and took off alone to his country to marry him. Her first impressions despite finding Tahir togged up differently from how he seemed in Malaysia and his insistence that she cover her head right from the airport: “Kudrat ki mehr samajh baithi.” Where did she go in Pakistan? To Buner, deep into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “A place even the average Pakistani would fear to go,” she’s dryly told by Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh (John Abraham) who’s vetting her case and gauging her authenticity.

In 2017, Uzma Ahmed made headlines when she was rescued from her abusive Pakistani husband by the Indian High Commission officials under the supervision of the then Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj. Director Shivam Nair joins forces with actor-producer John Abraham to recreate the diplomatic maneuver from the point of view of diplomat JP Singh, who led the rescue mission to bring the Delhi girl home. However, as it turns out, it is yet another addition to the trend where filmmakers flaunt the placard of ‘based on a true story’ but develop cold feet in digging the truth of the story. It thanks the top of the ministry for support, but it is hard to take a film on diplomacy seriously that can’t differentiate between an embassy and a high commission. It is difficult to root for a nationalist narrative when the makers don’t get the designation of a former foreign minister right.

John Abraham film is based on a true story but the makers do take liberties with the storytelling. Directed by Shivam Nair the film focuses on the thriller tone while exploring the victim’s story instead of the outcome since it’s already known. Inspite of the lack of action and punchy dialogues which is what John is known for in the recent years, the actor gives a commendable yet subtle performance. The film begins with a woman from the mountains of Pakistan being escorted to the Indian embassy. The makers from the first shot make it known that she isn’t coming from a good place, other women she comes across are beaten and bruised while the men carry guns and would use them as easier as their arms. She is taken to the embassy by her husband and another man along with him. They wait for the embassy to open and as soon as her husband leaves her side and the doors open, Uzma Ahmed presents her Indian passport demanding she be led inside and that she’s in need of dire help.

he Diplomat has all the elements of a solid thriller. The drama is Argo (2012) and Bridge of Spies (2015)-coded, where one government agent must negotiate the safe return of a citizen trapped in a seemingly hostile country. The premise is almost ready-made. The film is inspired by the true story of Uzma Ahmed (played by Sadia Khateeb), a woman who arrives at the Indian embassy in Islamabad desperately seeking refuge; she claims to have been tricked into marrying an abusive Pakistani man who kept her captive in the mountains. Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh (John Abraham) takes charge, determined to guide her through a maze of media scrutiny, red tape, court trials and political tensions. All he has are words and aura, in addition to the support of the Minister of External Affairs (based on the late Sushma Swaraj) from New Delhi.