An action thriller based on the subject of international terrorism, Mission Istaanbul is the story of a journalist who gets his hands on top-secret information on dreaded terrorists.
A talented journalist Vikas Sagar (Zayed Khan) who would go anywhere for a scoop to get an for an exclusive story is offered the senior most position in a controversial news station in Istanbul by the Senior producer Owais Husain (Sunil Shetty).
Because for this, it has has come with a promise of big money and many other perks which is an offer hard to refuse. Incidentally, Vikas is currently going through a very painful divorce with his wife Anjali (Shriya Saran) who is an equally aggressive journalist, yet an ideal Indian housewife.
After coming to Istanbul Vikas’s initial impression of the TV Channel Al Johara turns out to be in sharp contrast to its notorious reputation. Here, he learns more about Abu Nazir, who is described as “a one-man organization whose existence revolves around a single person.” He has also been cautioned – never ever to venture onto the 13th floor of the building known as the Catacomb.
Al Johara is supposed to be a widely criticized mouthpiece of terrorists. A dreaded terrorist most wanted by the Interpol, Abu Nazir, is vociferous in his threat to wage war against several countries, including India. A threat he usually delivers via videotapes to Al Johara. Working for the channel changes his life and then he decides to quit.
His friend cum guide Owais Husain is about to quit his job and settle down with his Irish girlfriend. Unfortunately, he is brutally executed by Owais Hussain while being among the kidnapped journalists in one of Abu Nazir’s terrorist camps in Afghanistan.
Now there is one Rizwan Khan (Vivek Oberoi) who tells Vikas that no senior employee has ever quit Al Johara without being killed. He also gives him a list of names who have met the same fate as Owais. Vikas discreetly runs a check on the names rattled off by Rizwan and discovers he was true. Five Al Johara staffers before Owais Husain had either died in a car bomb explosion, abducted and killed or simply found dead. It sends a chill through Vikas’s spine
Vikas realizes that not everything is as simple as it looks in the offices of Al Johara, especially when he seems to bump into strangers whose faces he soon recognizes as suicide bombers in a couple of terrorist attacks. The deeper Vikas digs into Al Johara history and operations, the more questions crop up in his mind. And then he makes the cardinal mistake of straying onto the 13th floor.
Vikas has no choice but to ally with Rizwan after he makes a shocking revelation that Abu Nazir is dead but being kept alive by Al Johara through videotapes by using digital images of the terrorist and doctoring old footage.
Having no other option, now Vikas steals the secrets locked away on Al Johara’s 13th floor and becomes a man on the run – wanted by Turkish cops, terrorists and the CIA. He is forced to wield a gun and join Rizwan in a bloody mission against international terrorism. Mission Istaanbul is surely a one time watch.
Cast of Mission Istaanbul:
Vikas Sagar – Zayed Khan
Rizwan Khan – Vivek Oberoi
Owais Hussain – Sunil Shetty
Anjali – Shriya
Shabbir Ahluwalia
Abhishek Bachchan
Shweta Bhardwaj
Nikitin Dheer
President George W. Bush – Brent Mendenhall
Credits of Mission Istaanbul:
Produced by – Shabbir Boxwala, Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, Sunil Shetty
Cinematography by R.J. Gururaj
First Assistant Director – Shawn Aranha
Third Assistant Director – Raul Aranjo
Graphic Designer – Mihir Shah
Sound Department
ADR Assistant – Amit Ahire
Foley Recordist – Amit Ahire
Sound Designer – Baylon Fonseca
Assistant Camera – Lalit Sahoo
Music Director – Vikas Kohli
Publicity Designer – Nabeel Abbas
Directed by Apoorva Lakhia
Screenplay – Apoorva Lakhia, Suresh Nair
Story – Suresh Nair
Dialogue – Raj Vasant
Mission Istaanbul, movie review
