The Ghost glamorizes the life of an Interpol officer to such an extent that the agency should appear on Fortune’s ‘best places to work’ list. The movie might lead you to believe that if you’re an Interpol officer, your main job is basically to hunt down and kill the bad guys. And an Interpol cop can do that between 9-5 and then come home, take a nice bath, pour himself a drink and relax with the pride of a job well done. Wake up the next day and repeat. And an Interpol cop also gets to take lots of luxurious and very expensive yacht vacations with a beautiful co-worker. Drinks, parties, beautiful partners, a fancy house, a good salary, a closet full of guns and katana swords and a life of action – who wouldn’t want a profession that offers such a life?
Vikram (Nagarjuna) lives this dream with his girlfriend Priya (Sonal Chauhan) who is also his co-worker. We first see them when they raid a terrorist camp. Only the two of them take on the terrorist banner and emerge unscathed. The scene reminds us of the climactic scene from the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, when the couple performs a kind of romantic tango amid a hail of bullets. Vikram and Priya even find time to kiss in between all the action.
From there, the tone of director Praveen Sattara’s film shifts. Vikram is upset after botching a rescue operation because of a bad decision he makes. As a result, a young boy dies and Vikram goes on a killing spree. You’re not alone if the plot reminds you a little of John Wick. We only get a glimpse of Vikram’s rage before Praveen changes the mood of the film yet again. We are now in Vikram’s tragic story, the sacrifices of his foster father and his troubled relationship with his foster sister. Vikram has given up his job and now devotes his time to protecting his sister Anu (Gul Panag) and her teenage daughter Aditi (Anikha Surendran). And he is not good at parenting as he uses a stun gun to discipline Aditi who is spoiled by her privileged position.
What follows is a predictable story that makes the Ghost not even as cheeky as Mr. &Mrs. Smith, not even as funny as John Wick. It’s a 150-minute wannabe neo-noir action thriller that tests our patience.
