The Ghazi Attack -2017- -

Rating: 3.5 / 5

The Ghazi Attack is a significant milestone for Indian cinema—a rare, mature war film that relies on brains over brawn. It successfully transplants the submarine thriller genre to an Indian historical context without losing authenticity or tension.

Watch it if: You enjoy slow-burn military thrillers like Das Boot, Crimson Tide, or The Hunt for Red October. Skip the songs (the Telugu version has an unnecessary item number) and the romantic subplot, and you’ll find a gripping, respectful, and surprisingly haunting tale of war beneath the waves.

Best for: Fans of naval history, submarine warfare, and character-driven suspense.

Director: Sankalp Reddy Cast: Rana Daggubati, Taapsee Pannu, Kay Kay Menon, Atul Kulkarni, Om Puri Language: Telugu (also shot in Hindi & Tamil) the ghazi attack -2017-

With his submarine mortally wounded, Captain Raza resorted to the last card in the playbook: nuclear ambiguity. He ordered the launch of a single Babur-3 submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM), but with a conventional warhead, aimed not at the harbor but at an empty patch of sea 30 miles offshore—a “warning shot.”

But Indian electronic warfare systems had anticipated this. A DRDO-developed jammer aboard a Dornier 228 aircraft flooded the UHF band used by the Ghazi-II’s missile guidance link. The Babur-3 lost lock, spiraled into the sea, and detonated harmlessly.

The explosion, however, was seen by a US spy satellite. Within minutes, the White House Situation Room was alerted. India’s NSA Ajit Doval received a secure call: “De-escalate, or this becomes Article 5 material.” (A reference to NATO’s collective defense clause, though neither nation was a member—a sign of global alarm.)

India’s response was swift but calibrated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation at 06:00 hours on February 20: “We have contained a hostile underwater incursion. Our navy has shown restraint and precision. Let there be no doubt—our waters are inviolable.” Rating: 3

Set in 1971, during the India-Pakistan war, the film fictionalizes the mysterious sinking of the Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi. The story follows the Indian submarine INS Sarvastra as it embarks on a secret mission to block a Pakistani naval attack. When the Ghazi arrives with the sole objective of destroying the Sarvastra and the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, a dangerous underwater cat-and-mouse game ensues, testing the limits of human endurance, strategy, and patriotism.

Searching for "the ghazi attack -2017-" often leads to discussions about its VFX. The film was made on a modest budget of approximately ₹30 crore (approx. $4.5 million). Director Sankalp Reddy, a former software engineer, obsessed over details. He consulted naval officers from the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam to ensure that every warning light and every pipe leak was authentic.

The film’s central mechanic is "silent running." In submarine warfare, noise equals death. The Ghazi Attack -2017- visualizes this perfectly. When the crew stops speaking, holds their breath, and switches off non-essential machinery, the audience holds their breath too. The climax, where the S-21 releases a high-pressure air bubble to fool the Ghazi’s sonar, is a masterclass in practical effects and editing.

Released in February 2017, The Ghazi Attack stands as a significant milestone in Indian cinema. Directed by debutant Sankalp Reddy, the film is touted as India’s first underwater war movie. It distinguishes itself from typical Bollywood war dramas by trading large-scale infantry battles and romantic subplots for a taut, claustrophobic submarine thriller. Director: Sankalp Reddy Cast: Rana Daggubati, Taapsee Pannu,

In the annals of Indian cinema, 2017 was a remarkable year for war films. While Tiger Zinda Hai dominated the box office with action spectacle, a smaller, more technically intricate film surfaced from the depths of the Bay of Bengal. That film was The Ghazi Attack (originally titled Ghazi in Telugu). Released on February 17, 2017, this multilingual masterpiece did not feature a hero singing in the Swiss Alps or a villain with a lair. Instead, it trapped its audience inside a 400-foot-long submarine, choking on diesel fumes and suspense.

Directed by the late Sankalp Reddy, The Ghazi Attack -2017- remains a landmark achievement not just for its narrative, but for its audacity. It is widely regarded as India’s first underwater war film. But why, seven years later, do we still search for "the ghazi attack -2017-" with such curiosity? Because it represents a perfect storm of historical revisionism, technical terror, and claustrophobic storytelling.

The film is set against the backdrop of the 1971 Indo-Pak war, specifically focusing on the events leading up to the liberation of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). The central plot revolves around the mysterious sinking of the PNS Ghazi, a Pakistani submarine.

The narrative posits a "what-if" scenario regarding the deployment of the Ghazi. The story suggests that Pakistan sent the submarine to the Bay of Bengal with the mission to target and destroy the INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy's sole aircraft carrier. By destroying the Vikrant, Pakistan aimed to blockade the Indian Navy and sever support for the Mukti Bahini (Bangladeshi freedom fighters).

To counter this invisible threat, the Indian Navy dispatches the S21, a submarine commanded by the rebellious and aggressive Captain Ranvijay Singh (Kay Kay Menon). He is accompanied by the upright and by-the-book Lieutenant Commander Arjun Varma (Rana Daggubati) and the experienced sailor officer Devaraj (Atul Kulkarni).