Subhash K Jha (DNA; June 25, 2015)

Saif Ali Khan-starrer Phantom, which has the actor playing an army officer out to seek revenge on the terrorists who masterminded the 26/11 Mumbai attack won’t see the actor indulge in song and dance.

The Kabir Khan film which hits theatres one month after his Bajrangi Bhaijaan on August 28, is based on author S Hussain Zaidi’s novel Mumbai Avengers.

The plot, mood and intent of Phantom is completely antithetical to BB. Says an insider, “While in BB, Kabir champions the cause of cross-border friendship by showing an Indian Hanuman bhakt helping a lost Pakistani girl find her way back home, Phantom sees Saif track down and kill Pakistani ISI agents who masterminded the Mumbai attacks.”

While Bajrangi and Salman would endear themselves to Pakistan, Phantom and Saif are hardly going to make our neighbouring country happy.

Refraining from commenting on the content of either film, Kabir says, “All I’ll say is Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Phantom are two completely different films. While Bajrangi Bhaijaan is a full-on masala film with lots of music and singing, Phantom has no lip-sync songs. It’s intended as a far more serious exploration of a political issue.”