Starring: Varun Dhawan, Samantha, Kay Kay Menon, Saqib Saleem, Simran, Sikandar Kher, Soham Majumdar, Shivankit Parihar, Kashvi Majmundar
Directors: Raj & DK
This tunefully named thriller on Amazon Prime Video has made quite the mark on streaming charts since it dropped this month. So, is this Indian addition to the spy universe made famous by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden worth all the hype?
Nadia (Majmundar) is a sharp and quick-witted young schoolgirl, who has been brought up by her mother Honey (Samantha) to be as alert as any well-heeled spy. With her canny ability to sense when “bad guys” are on the horizon, Nadia finds herself thrown into a chase with her mum racing against time to keep her safe.
MORE LIKE THIS…
Far from this mother-daughter drama in the hills of India, Bunny (Dhawan) is forced to break protocol as an ex-spy when he discovers he has a daughter somewhere out there whom he has never met. As he races towards the love of his life Honey and their daughter Nadia, Bunny reminisces about the twists and turns of his life as a field operative blindly following orders from Guru (Menon) that led to their estrangement. When Honey got a glimpse into Guru’s dangerous intentions to control the world through a new-age device, she tried hard to convince Bunny to turn his back on his father figure. But Bunny’s loyalty to the man who had rescued him from the depths of despair in an orphanage proved more powerful than his love for Honey. Will Honey and Bunny be able to re-unite in time to protect their daughter Nadia or will Guru’s evil empire obliterate all hope to save Citadel?
MORE LIKE THIS…
This prequel to Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ grown-up Nadia of ‘Citadel’ introduces the audience to her Indian parents and also sets out her motivations as a dare-devil international spy determined to pursue her goals at all costs. While Varun Dhawan is impressive in his very Bollywood stuntman avatar, Samantha shines with her effortless and hard-hitting performance. Kay Kay Menon, as always, plays the understated suave baddie with such ease that viewers will find the six episodes whiz by quite rapidly.
Raj & DK’s unique style and homage to classic Indian cinema makes this Honey-Bunny outing a worthy and binge-worthy addition to the ‘Citadel’ spy universe.