''Torbaaz'' (transl. Black Falcon) is a 2020 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

action thriller The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

film directed by Girish Malik.

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor, playback singer and film producer who works in Hindi cinema in addition to a few Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi films. Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 160 films. ...

plays the role of a medical professional that lost his wife and son while he was placed in the Indian Embassy in Kabul, while

Nargis Fakhri Nargis Fakhri is an American actress who primarily works in Hindi-language films of India. After working as a model in America, Fakhri came to prominence in India with the 2011 romantic drama film ''Rockstar (2011 film), Rockstar''. She subseque ...

and

Rahul Dev Rahul Dev Kaushal (born 27 September 1968) is an Indian actor and former model who predominantly works in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia language films He also participated in Bigg Boss (Hindi season 10) and was evicted on ...

play other prominent characters. ''Torbaaz'' was earlier scheduled for a theatrical release, which could not happen owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, after which the makers confirmed its distribution contract with

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. It was premiered on 11 December 2020 on Netflix.

Plot

Naseer is an ex- army doctor who is visiting a

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Whilst he is there, he recalls how he lost his wife and young son to a suicide terrorist attack, during his placement at the Indian Embassy, in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. He, alongside Ayesha, works together to run his late wife’s

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

. Naseer tries to bring joy to the children in the camp, through

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

. He tries to make a team of displaced boys that were victims of the

Afghan war War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in t ...

. Naseer tries to get the boys to work together and put aside their differences through cricket. He constantly faces the threat of Qazar and his men, who want to use the boys as soldiers and suicide bombers.

Cast

Production

''Torbaaz'' was announced in September 2016.

was roped in for lead role after

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

begun in December 2017. After shooting in

, ''Torbaaz'' was majorly filmed in

Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

becoming the first Indian film shot there. Other filming locations included

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, Manali (

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

) and

Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states ...

Release

Initially planned for a May 2019 theatrical release, ''Torbaaz'' was postponed to mid-2020, but due to cinemas shut down owing to

, it was not able to release that time too. In July 2020, it was decided that ''Torbaaz'' was directly released online. It was released on 11 December 2020 on

who purchased its digital and distribution rights.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 7805960
Torbaaz
on

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...

Indian action drama films Indian action thriller films Indian sports drama films Films set in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) films Films shot in Asia Hindi-language action drama films Netflix original films Indian direct-to-video films Films not released in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films shot in Afghanistan Films shot in Mumbai Films shot in Manali, Himachal Pradesh Films shot in Punjab, India Works about the Taliban Films about jihadism Films about cricket in India