Udta Teer movie review: Ayushmann Khurrana's film delivers big laughs, but plays too safe at the end

A few years back, Ayushmann Khurrana created a genre for himself by playing the everyday man in numerous slice-of-life comedies. Khurrrana has had a few releases in the last two years, but none have been able to put him back in the spot he had created and ruled (at the box office) for a considerable amount of time. Udta Teer, directed by Aakash Kaushik, brings Khurrana back to his comedic elements. While he doesn’t play a regular guy with relatable problems, Udta Teer still can be put in a genre of comedies that the actor has aced in the past. In his latest film, Khurrana plays a Pakistani spy in India, who suffers post trauma memory loss, which leads to complexities for the neighbour state. The story, also written by Kaushik, has the perfect ingredients to make for a roaring entertainer. Does it deliver? Let's find out.

What’s the plot of Udta Teer?

Ayushmann Khurrana plays Major Vikrant, part of India’s elite Counter Terrorism Squad, a daredevil, risk-taking officer. In reality, though, he is Bilal Ahmad, an ISI agent planted in India, extracting information for Pakistan. He is also not the only Pak spy planted in Indian intelligence; it includes Dhruv (Suhail Nayyar), his colleague at CTS, his househelp and IAS officer Srivastav (Bajendra Kala).

The group operates on the instructions of General Niyazi (Ram Kapoor) of ISI. After Vikrant, urf Bilal, successfully helps dreaded terrorist Azhar Maqsood (late Mukul Dev) escape to Pakistan, ISI instructs him to extract the list of names of Indian spies who are in Pakistan on a similar mission just so that they can be eliminated.

The night when Bilal finally extracts the information, he meets with an accident which leads to memory loss. He now only remembers that he is an honest, patriotic officer of the Indian Army- one who hates Pakistan. This obviously leads to confusion and frustration for his team. The memory loss also leads him to rekindle his relationship with his wife, Yamini (Sara Ali Khan), whom he was on the verge of divorcing before the fateful accident.

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Indian Intelligence also warns of an impending terror attack that Maqsood and his men are planning on 15th August, which now Vikrant and his men must stop. But will VIkrant/Bilal save India from Pakistan or aid the latter in conducting the terror attack on August 15?

The gags are in plenty

Udta Teer starts on a high note with the late Mukul Dev playing a fumbling terrorist who falters more than he kills. An overweight man, who is on Hinder, constantly searching for his hoor, Dev’s portrayal as the terror outfit leader brings in plenty of laughter. Dev, who died in 2025, soon after completing the filming, is presented in a completely different avatar. It takes special talent to write a fumbling, comical terrorist, and Kaushik evidently aces it.

The screenplay of the first half, particularly, is so well written and performed that the film feels like a breeze. Comedic scenes are in plenty. A particular sequence involving Rahul Bose and Khurrana in the hospital stands out even though it is completely exaggerated. Another sequence where Vikrant is now a complete deshbhakt has his trusted aide and fellow spy, played by Sandeep Aanand, crying in a corner out of frustration as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’s ‘Tujhe Yaad Na Meri Aayi ’ plays in the background, had the entire theatre in splits.

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The humour, of course, is slapstick and spoofish but lands well. It takes jibes at every deshbhakt but also makes fun of the concept of patriotism. It’s smart enough to not look down upon any religion or community even though it plays to the gallery throughout.

The dreaded second half

The film slowly loses focus and humour somewhere post-interval when the twists come sporadically, and humour goes down to a great extent. The climax is messy, with Kaushik playing it safe and thus predictable with a cold ending. I also felt the songs were completely unnecessary and tedious to watch. I was quite invested in the story until the songs came by, each delaying the narrative to a great extent and none of them being hummable or noteworthy.

Khurrana slips into the character of a confused spy well. He is in a known territory of situational comedy and delivers his part well. His camaraderie with Suhail Nayyar particularly stands out. Nayyar is a gifted actor and has in the past proved his mettle in various series and films. He does not disappoint here either. Rahul Bose, in a role that has been emoting through his eyes and less through dialogue, is hilarious as the head of CTS. Sara Ali Khan and Smita Tambe are there merely for female representation.

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Final Verdict

The problem with Udta Teer is that while it starts on a promising note, with gags and jokes galore, it soon realises its theme is patriotism and thus takes a sharp turn and becomes serious and rather boring. If it were brave enough to go the extra mile, the film would have been thoroughly enjoyable. But Aakash Kaushik sticks to the basics and never dares to tread uncharted territory, as it hints initially, thus never flexing its full potential as a story.

Udta Teer is now playing in theatres.