The Diplomat - a most dangerous game

 

The Diplomat

Hindi, 2025

Genre: Political Thriller

Watch on Netflix

Director: Shivam Nair

Stars: John Abraham, Sadia Khateeb, Sharib Hashmi, Jagjeet Sandhu, Vidhatri Bandi, Revathi

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In it never-ending fascination for youth and the masses, the West likes to see the world in terms of "us" and "them," "black" and "white", "right" and "wrong."  The adult world, the rest of the world, sees things differently. For governance is understood as a gray area, one in which moral obligations clash with political rhetoric.  It is in navigating such a world wherein lies maturity.

I feel The Diplomat failed in the theaters because it is a mature film.  The otherwise muscle-bound warrior archetype that Mr. Abraham is known to play is put aside for a stoic, contemplative, and principled politician who now holds the fate of two nations in his hands, all for the life of one young woman. 

Coming on the heels of recent events, The Diplomat is a fascinating look at the tensions that are always present between the two big nations of South Asia, and with some poetic license, explains why this tension exists.  For while one seeks to be secular democracy wherein opportunities exist everywhere, the other provides only for its rich, leaving the poor to live off outdated values.  Such outdated values set the tone of intolerance and violence, both on collective and individual levels.

The young Uzma Ahmed is a victim to the latter, an Indian Muslim woman who falls in love too fast, and finds herself in a very dangerous world, a world that isn't very much talked about in the country where it thrives.  She finds her only refuge at the Indian Embassy, where the notable IFS officer J P Singh provides sanctuary.  Protecting her, while at the same time not jeopardizing his country's honor becomes his solemn promise.

Never have I seen John Abraham in such a profound role.  The realism on his face, the seriousness of his tone, and the stoic but all too real sense of the danger, are clearly written on his face throughout.  While Ms. Khateeb certainly impresses us with her acting, I find the two loyal assistants, played by Ms. Bhatri and Mr. Hashmi particularly impressive.  While the ending of the film puts aside acting for action, for the most part all the actors are given opportunities to prove themselves on the screen.

Proof of our loyalty to our motherland here in the USA can oftentimes be novelty, a nostalgic opportunity to wave flags and wear traditional garb.  This intelligent, superbly acted film will take such novelty out of the equation, if only for a few hours, to make our allegiances more meaningful.