Set during the financial crisis of 2007–2008, Khuda Haafiz follows an Indian man Sameer Chaudhary, a young man who must rescue his kidnapped wife, Nargis, from flesh traders in a foreign country (it’s set in a fictitious Middle East country named Noman)
The action thriller film is written and directed by Faruk Kabir who previously made Allah Ke Banday (2010) starring Naseeruddin Shah and Sharman Joshi. Khuda Haafiz is produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak under Panorama Studios. It stars Vidyut Jammwal, Shivaleeka Oberoi, Annu Kapoor, Aahana Kumra and Shiv Panditt in supporting roles.
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As far as the film’s plot it concerned, it might remind people of the 2008 Hollywood film Taken. While in that film, Liam Neeson’s character was in a desperate search of his kidnapped daughter, her Vidyut Jammwal’s character is in search of his wife who has gone missing. Now, the thing with action films is that we can still overlook the plot and focus on the action. Khuda Haafiz performs fairly well on that front. Jammwal’s presence alone is an assurance that the film’s action sequences would be fun to watch and the film certainly doesn’t disappoint as far as action is concerned. There is a corridor fight scene wherein Jammwal single-handedly takes on dozens of goons. It will surely remind some of the South Korean film Old Boy which was later remade by Sanjay Gupta as Zinda.
Jammwal is primarily there in the film for his action and his performance is acceptable but Shiv Panditt’s portrayal of an Nomani investigative office is far from convincing. His accent is almost laughable. Annu Kapoor, on the other hand, looks quite believable as the Nomani cab driver who helps Sameer Chaudhary. Aahana Kumra also has a very interesting character in the film. As for Shivaleeka Oberoi, it’s a little difficult to accept her in the role of an innocent girl who gets sold into flesh trade after the dangerously obsessive and manipulative character she played in Cherag Ruparel’s Yeh Saali Aashiqui, which released last year.
Khuda Haafiz holds a strong appeal for action movie enthusiasts. But the rest can afford to give it a miss. The film is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
Rating: 2.5/5
Watch the trailer of Khuda Haafiz here
