Rangoon is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language romantic war drama film[4] directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures.
[5][6][7][8][9] The project is a period film set during World War II (1939–1945) and stars Kangana Ranaut as a character that is based on Mary Ann Evans aka Fearless Nadia, Bollywood's first original stunt-woman.
In one such skirmish close to the Indo-Burma border, Jemadar Nawab Malik and a group of fellow soldiers are cornered by the Japanese infantry.
Slighted by the commander's arrogant demeanor, the King endeavours to send the sword to the Indo-Burma border, where the INA hopes it can fund its artillery program and drive the British out of India.
An opportunity arises when Harding proposes dispatching Julia and her troupe to the war-torn border,, where he hopes to raise the sagging morale of his troops through her shows.
When Billimoria and Julia (who are now in a relationship) object, Harding promises top-grade security and coerces them by threatening to block supplies of film stock from England, as Nazi Germany has stopped shipments.
Malik, who has also escaped unscathed, arrives in time to save her from being killed and, in the process, captures one Japanese soldier, Hiromichi, as a hostage to lead them back to the Indian border.
Back in India, Harding again proposes that Julia, now engaged to Billimoria, be dispatched to the front lines, with anti-aircraft gun protection this time.
Julia continues to exhibit feelings for Malik: she endorses him for the prestigious Victoria Cross medal and deliberately forces him to volunteer for a stage show.
Desiring vengeance, Billimoria volunteers as a stagehand on Julia's next show and, after a tense routine, indirectly reveals that he is aware of her infidelity and ready to engage in a fight-to-the-finish with Malik.
Convinced of the cause and endowed with a fresh purpose, Malik clandestinely meets Julia before a show and delivers final instructions to Zulfi, who takes up a position outside her tent.
As night falls amid torrential downpour, Julia and Malik give Zulfi a proper burial, musing over loyalties and motivations.
The next day, Harding blackmails Mema into revealing her co-conspirators by threatening to kill her son, at which point Malik discloses his true allegiance.
Horrified at this sequence of events, Julia turns a new leaf: she extracts Malik from a train bound for Delhi and resumes Zulfi's journey in getting the sword to the INA.
Praising Ranaut's performance he further wrote, ‘‘Kangana portrays the lifeline of Rusi and Nawab with commanding authority; She owns every sequence she appears in, she makes every moment come alive with a memorable act.
[33] Raja Sen from Rediff gave the film a rating of 4/5 and wrote, ‘‘Rangoon haunts in unlikely fashion and, while the director's most straightforward picture, holds enough of its own marvels to justify multiple viewings’’.
Ranaut looks like she knows how to actually crack a whip instead of just hurl one around, and acquits herself admirably in old-world stuntwoman sequences, all the while playing the part with enough vulnerability and insecurity to mark Julia out as a confused girl who doesn't quite know what she's doing’’.
He further wrote, ‘‘they’ve produced a properly expansive and enthralling afternoon matinee, owing as much to the David Lean back catalogue as it does to the industry that gifted us Lagaan – and those films didn’t have dance numbers about winding up Hitler’’.
[36] Meena Iyer from Times of India gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, ‘‘Rangoon is an ambitious attempt to actually tell a triangular love story against the backdrop of war, the canvas is huge and Pankaj Kumar’s cinematography is exquisite’’.
[38] Simon Abrams from RogerEbert.com gave the film a rating of three out of four stars and wrote, "The most remarkable thing about Rangoon isn't how seamless its plot mechanics are or how ideologically nuanced it is; it's the movie's determination to foreground its characters and get you to care what happens to them".