Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Sexylocher Masterful Movie

mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

HeadleyLamarr Amrit Sagar has crafted 1971 straight from the heart. It is the story of about 50 POWs captured by Pakistan and never released despite a prisoner exchange after the 1971 war. The tale is told from the perspective of the POWs and is a story of the escape attempt made by 6 of them so that the truth can be revealed to India and to the world. The events shown in the film may never have happened, but the question of these unaccounted for soldiers persists and is sufficient motivation for this rousing tale.Manoj Bajpai plays Major Suraj Singh of the Rajputana rifles in a role that was tailor made for his excellent histrionic abilities. He has a loyal cohort of soldiers who will lay their life down for him. Upon discovering that they have been moved from prison to a new camp to escape detection by a Red Cross delegation, the gang plans a daring escape. The events that unfold will keep you on the edge of your seat. Bravery, self-sacrifice, extreme bravado and even foolhardiness come into play as the small band tries to escape through the countryside and high altitude snow-covered passes. This part of the tale stirs up the blood but the expected ending (the fate of these soldiers is still unknown in real life) is a bit of a downer. The Pakistani military is also realistically shown to be a mix of the usual rabid, pragmatic, patriotic and intelligent soldiers. Deepak Dobriyal shines as one of the soldiers but no one turns in a bad performance and the film is of very high quality.In my opinion the best war film ever is still Chetan Anand's Haqeekat, but 1971 comes close in realism, quality, and the ability to tug at emotions. A must watch.

krishna_rangava The best patriotic movie ever, that is moving, taken to heart and which enhances the feeling of courage, determination and patriotism. A must see film for every Indian, that has brought out the hidden truth behind the aftermath of 1971 war. One of the few films which deserves a standing ovation and salute to the heroes who have given their lives for their country and heroes who survived a disaster but could not make it back to their motherland. All the actors have done an excellent job by bringing alive the stories of soldiers of the war. Manoj Bajpai's acting skills are to the fullest (as usual) and his character is very inspiring. Background score is amazing and the two songs, one by Shibani Kashyap-Sehlenge hum and the other, a Sufi ghazal have added to the melody of the music given by Akash Sagar. The movie reveals a plan by 6 of the many Indian prisoners of war(pow), captured after the 1971 battle and kept in hiding for years without nobody being made aware of their presence in Pakistan to escape from Pakistan showing off their zeal and strong desire to be back home but out of the six, no one makes it back to the homeland. The one person Major Suraj Singh who gets on the verge of crossing the loc is shot dead. Film ends with a beautiful scene not to be told but must be seen.No help was extended to the pows even by the Red Cross in spite of them knowing about the presence of Indian soldiers in Pakistan. On the whole this film would stand as an all-time classics of Indian cinema.

Gaurav Kumar The movie is about Indian soldiers held as war-prisoners in Pakistan since 1971. The plot is of 1978 when they plan a final escape. The protagonist is one of the soldiers. With Manoj Bajpai in the leading role, the movie is very meticulously made. No 'gadar' like stuff and thank-god no amitabh bacchan as army major (he is there is every freaking movie i watch). No songs in the wrong place (infact there r only 2 songs...wow !) The action and direction is awesome. I liked the story, the plot...the way they plan for an escape. The idea/message that the director might have wanted to put across, the story of POW in Pakistan, has been put across. The end of the movie is sad and quite unexpected. I would strongly suggest to watch this movie.

infinityToHeaven Prologue -54 'Prisoners of War' (POW) have been captured by Pakistan and never returned to India or told to the world. No one knows what happened to them. Till now, till date. The Intelligence Bureau reported that still some of them were alive in 1988. Indian Govt never really 'cared' to find out about their existence. It remains a mystery till date, whether some war prisoners are still hoping to live, waiting to die in the remains of a hapless country which betrayed Red Cross, all international norms of War. This story is a fictitious rendering about 6 such Lts and Commanders who tried to escape. This story is their journey of hope in telling the truth to the world.Will they make it to the border? Will the world come to know about the rest of the POW?Rarely do you see a quality cinema surpassed by it's own excellence in every technical department in a debut making. 1971: Prisoners of War will surprise you, touch you deep within and astonish you with it's film making brilliance. India is awakening and new talent is booming. Ironically the pathway is still led by stars who endorse everything from toothpaste to banks, Big banners which have anything but little to offer in path breaking celluloid. Here comes a movie straight from the heart. With utter honesty weaved with a brilliant execution of screenplay, acting, story telling, characterization, background score, in a thematic foreplay that could raise eyebrows to the world cinema critics.There have been war movies before, many repetitive takes on Indo-Pak relationships, many patriotic themes. This movie does what all other movies never could touch. It touches Patriotism at an international level beyond the boundary of a country. You don't necessarily have to be an Indian to watch. It is like Love, without any barriers. Patriotism has no nationality. It touches a human spirit & emotions behind a facade of war-zone. There is no hatred, animosity. You do not see Slangs starting with M* or B*. There is no bloodshed, no violence, no hatred for each other. Instead, what you see is much more sophisticated Art of War. Strategies, Planning, Contrived Army Politics. All wrapped up in a perfect edge of the seat action and story telling like you've seen in good foreign cinema.Manoj Bajpai is first class, perhaps his best performance till date. Watch out for his scenes towards the end. Every other character is beyond brilliance, you may not have heard their names before but it helps to relate to their characters which has been portrayed brilliantly, each one of them. The young Amrit Sagar, son of the legendary filmmaker "Ramananda Sagar" (maker of Ramayana TV series) makes a debut like no other, from his brief stint in the US; doubling with his 16 year old brother to compose the background score for this movie and his Uncles as producers. This is a family effort who passionately made this movie. For once, you will begin to think, a new sound is born. A new AR rahman has risen. There are 4 songs, all perfectly blended in the bg in this movie (one spellbinding theme music during the end titles sung by Shibani Kashyap). Couple of these songs have been sung without any music but just plates and table. That is a complete retake on filming songs!The Editing is crisp, not a single scene are you taken away from the story. Cinematography is not top notch but commendable with scenic routes of Himachal Pradesh, Kulu with it's semi-sepia tone and slow action steady cams. The Writer Piyush Mishra brings his experience from his previous epic writing - Legend of the Bhagat Singh; does a fantastic job with realism in every character. As a comparison to a feeling of realism & passion you could think of "Hotel Rwanda" or Swades. Inspite of it's shades of inspirations from the theme of "Great Escape", this movie begs to grab your respect.It's rather ironic that at a time when India needs a boost for young talent with an international outlook on film-making, the critics and the audience betray them yet again. It's been a month and I haven't seen a single critical review of a movie or discussion, which I personally think is one of the best Indian crafts I've ever watched. What a shame. This needs a lot better attention. This is the kind of movie you would want to proudly represent at the academy awards.Watch this movie for it's passion. Watch this movie if you want to learn what film-making is all about. Watch this movie to take home some true feelings about the people who have never been thought of. Don't let the sand wash away, preserve your soil. Let the talent be ripe in this dying beautiful world. But for the almighty sake, don't watch this movie for the critics. Watch it for yourself, watch it alone and you will walk back with great honor in your heart. That's my word for you.****** Songs ***** "Sehlenge Hum" - Sung beautifully, in an absolutely spellbound voice by Shibani Kashyap "Prelude to the show - Instrumental" - You may be think it's John Williams or James Horner who composed this piece. Ironically its a 16 yeard old debutante ..."Saajna" - a great sufi ghazal ...