Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violence, suicide, smoking in overly-long spy-thriller.
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Mission Manju
What's the Story?
In MISSION MANJU, the year is 1974, and after India has detonated its first nuclear weapon, rival Pakistan is determined to develop its own nuclear bomb at all costs. This includes working with rogue states and buying uranium on the black market. This raises international concern, but as Pakistan denies doing this, India must find a way to prove that Pakistan is building a nuclear facility. Enter Tariq (Sidharth Malhotra), ostensibly a tailor, but actually an Indian spy. With other undercover agents, Tariq must figure out how to prove to India and the world that Pakistan has a nuclear facility. He does this despite a boss who resents him due to his father betraying the country and committing suicide in front of Tariq when he was a boy. Meanwhile, Tariq has fallen in love with Nasreen, a blind woman who is the daughter of one of his superiors. Keenly aware that Pakistan's development of nuclear weapons could lead to World War III, Israel gets involved and threatens to send military jets to bomb a village in Pakistan, where it's widely believed to be the location of the nuclear facility. Tariq and his colleagues must find the actual location, provide concrete evidence, prevent a violent international incident, and somehow make it out alive.
Is It Any Good?
This is a potentially interesting historical spy-thriller marred by being overly long and needlessly complex. Mission Majnu tells the story of how Indian spies prevented Pakistan from obtaining nuclear weapons in the 1970s, potentially staving off World War III in the process. This central story is interesting, filled with action and fascinating political backdrops. The conflicts are engaging, and there are some entertaining "cloak and dagger" scenes of chasing and escaping.
However, there are also other side stories that drag the movie down. There's a little too much Bollywood-style melodrama involving romance and marriage, a boss who hates our hero because of his father's sins, and meetings between political officials that go on a little too long. There's no reason for this to be over two hours, and the moments that drag really offset and hold back the moments that are actually action-packed.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about spy-thrillers like Mission Majnu. How is this similar to and different from other spy thrillers you've seen?
Do you think the movie was an accurate reflection of what actually happened, or did it heighten some parts, ignore others, and add fictional aspects for the sake of entertainment?
How does the violence compare to that in other spy-thrillers? Was this violence necessary, or was it excessive? Why?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : January 20, 2023
- Cast : Sidharth Malhotra , Rashmika Mandanna , Parmeet Sethi
- Director : Shantanu Bagchi
- Inclusion Information : Indian/South Asian Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Thriller
- Topics : History
- Run time : 127 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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