What is it about?
Naam Shabana is a prequel to the superhit Baby. Ever since Neeraj Pandey announced the movie Naam Shabana, there were huge expectations for the film. Once Taapsee Pannu was officially named the lead of the film, it was expected to be a strong women centric spy-thriller. Taapsee made a cameo in Baby and Naam Shabana is an establishment to showcase her journey from a girl next door to a spy agent.

What makes up the film?

The movie talks about a girl and her struggle from her teenage to the later phase of life. It has a very realistic portrayal of narration on the screen which makes it very interesting to watch. In short, the movie talks about love, emotion, pain, revenge and patriotism.

What doesn't work?

Well, it is always challenging to portray realistic characters in an action or a thriller film. Neeraj Pandey is known to handle such situations, but this time with Taapsee being the lead, there were flaws in the screenplay, the character establishment takes its own time which is definitely testing patience to watch it till the end. But, thanks to Akshay Kumar's extended cameo which holds the film to some extent and makes it gripping in all his scenes.

What worked?

Taapsee Pannu's acting and the way she carries the entire film from the start till the end is something that needs an appreciation. Very few women oriented action thriller films succeed and Naam Shabana to quite some extent justifies with a neat packaging of a commercial and social message. The second half and climax with Prithviraj and Akshay Kumar's extended cameos are a big plus for the film which have worked positively.

Well?

Naam Shabana is a justifiable prequel with a mix of different elements in its packaging with a very realistic approach in showcasing the characters that makes it cater to different movie lovers.