The Diplomat Movie Cast & Crew
- Actors: John Abraham as Indian diplomat J.P. Singh, Sadia Khateeb as Uzma Ahmed, Kumud Mishra as a senior diplomat advocate, Sharib Hashmi as a journalist, Revathy as a senior advisor in the Indian government.
- Director: Shivam Nair
- Release Date: March 14, 2025
- Availability: Theatrical release; later on Netflix (OTT platform)
- Language: Hindi
- Runtime: 137 minutes
Review of The Diplomat
A burqa-wearing young woman resembling Kashmiri separatist leader Asiya Andrabi tries to seek asylum at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. Is Uzma Ahmed (Sadia Khateeb) really angry, or is she a designated agent? Her narrative begins when she explains how she, as a well-educated Indian job seeker in Malaysia, was lured by a Pakistani cab driver, Tahir (Jagjeet Sandhu), and went to Pakistan to be wedded to him. Though the initial hesitation caused by Tahir’s altered demeanor and insistence that she be veiled the moment she stepped into the country, Uzma thought it destiny’s plan.
Her quest leads her to Buner, way down in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—a destination even most Pakistanis are too scared to visit. Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh (John Abraham), sent to determine her credibility, is reminded of earlier trauma—the Indian Embassy bombing in Afghanistan.
Drawing on real life, The Diplomat narrates the story of how Uzma was finally rescued and brought back to India. In 2017, the government of India, under External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (Revathy), mounted a fierce campaign of diplomacy, with a help of JP Singh in Islamabad, to free Uzma from her abusive husband. She had unknowingly walked into a hell—captive in a man’s world where women did not enjoy rights, kept prisoner among men armed to the teeth, and tortured as a wife.
As JP digs deep, Uzma’s reality is unearthed. She had left behind a thalassemia-afflicted minor daughter in India without any idea of what lay ahead of her in Pakistan. With persistence, JP and Sushma Swaraj battled in the Pakistani courts to bring back Uzma safely.
Director Shivam Nair and scriptwriter Ritesh Shah make use of native Pashto phrases, enriching the movie but also necessitating plenty of subtitles. The lighter moments come in JP’s relationship with his small son and the trading of jibes between Uzma’s Pakistani lawyer (Kumud Mishra) and his wife. The banter features piercing lines that are meant to go down well with Indian viewers, like “This is Pakistan, not India, where court orders are followed.”
The scariest scene is when Tahir attacks Uzma. Rather than a gruesome scene, the scene is described from Uzma’s perspective, and it elicits the fear she experiences. Some plot loopholes, like a security breakdown at the High Commission, are questionable.
Whereas the film captures Uzma’s experience, it does not maintain it interestingly. Uzma’s constant fright, her immobility even when she is being protected by the Indian High Commission, and her passive activity in the breakout can be maddening for the audience. Secondly, Tahir’s compulsive insistence on retaining Uzma—already having two wives—is an issue of misplaced pride.
In the context of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s espionage case, The Diplomat weaves an exciting narrative of diplomatic determination. Employing real names such as Sushma Swaraj, JP Singh, and Uzma lends gravity. Even as the film is good at encapsulating a momentous mission of diplomacy, it fails to be a satisfying enough viewing experience. The emotional high of victory that comes with such mind-boggling odds seems a little blunted.
