‘Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata’ Movie Review: Caregiving, Camaraderie & Courage

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata Cast/Actors: Kangana Ranaut, Girija Oak, Smita Tambe, Esha Dey, Prasad Oak, Suhita Thatte, Asha Shelar, Sayyaji Shinde, Priya Berde, Rasika Agashe and others

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata Director: Manoj Tapadia

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata Production House: PEN Studios, Manikarnika Films and Paramhans Creations

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata Release Date: June 12, 2026

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata Released/Available In Languages: Hindi

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata Available On: Theatrical Release (likely to be released on Netflix OTT Platform)

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata Runtime: 2h 7mins

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata Movie Review:

Cinematically, the first round of applause goes to Kangana Ranaut for not only playing Cama nurse Geeta Madhav Gandhare with professional efficiency but for also not overshadowing her colleagues Girija Oak, Smita Tambe and the others who play her fellow nurses. It is as an ensemble cast should be, screen time shared by all.

In real life, a resounding round of applause has been long overdue for the feisty nurses of Cama who worked fearlessly and tirelessly on a night they were not trained for. Nobody was prepared for a terror attack on Mumbai where blood was splattered in restaurants, roads, railway stations, five-star hotels and a hospital.

Films (like Major) and web series (like Mumbai Diaries) have told many stories about the valiant heroes of 26/11.

Writer-director Manoj Tapadia picks a theme not filmed before, putting the spotlight on the nurses who saved nearly 400 lives. As two terrorists armed with AK-47s prowled around Cama, intent on killing and spilling as much blood as they could, the nurses quietly handheld every patient including pregnant women in the throes of delivery and premature babies in incubators.

Tapadia introduces the nurses. They have homes and families, some who don’t quite respect a nurse’s job or understand her dedication. But they turn up for duty day after day, sharing a warm camaraderie amongst themselves even as they promise to save every life possible. A sensitive moment encapsulates it when a nurse looks at a baby with HIV and vows, as long as it’s breathing, we’re going to fight for its life.

On a normal day at the hospital, there are the usual skirmishes with matrons and women in administration who throw the book at them, the nurses standing up for one another. There’s time for a bit of mirth too as one nurse is known to spout Urdu poetry nobody quite understands.

Generously sprinkled with Marathi for authenticity, once caregiving and camaraderie are established, the terrorists enter Cama.

Tapadia films the Cama staff that rose to the occasion in much detail, how patients were shifted, emergency procedures conducted with lights switched off and shhh, no noise to give away their location to the terrorists who’re on the premises.

But…a mobile phone rings.

The problem with Tapadia’s narration is that despite the tension and tautness inherent in such a situation, there’s a familiarity, a routineness in his telling that renders it unexciting. There’s also a misplaced touch of humour when at the height of tension, someone offers gutka to a nurse looking desperately for a lighter.

As the nurses head home after a nightmare shift, there’s a predictable welcome awaiting them, a change of heart in families.

Geeta Gandhare’s courage continues long after the night comes to an end. In real life, it was nurse Anjali Kulthe who bravely identified Kasab as one of the terrorists, helping the prosecution hand the perpetrator of 26/11 a death sentence. Anjali is changed to Geeta in the film for the license to add a bit of human spice to her life. A final nod of appreciation from Geeta’s husband (Prasad Oak) wraps it up neatly.

A nod the nurses richly deserved.

But a cinematic documentation of such exemplary dedication deserved to be told with much more panache, much more excitement in the screenplay and narration.

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata – Watch it or not? This can be watched on OTT.

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata Movie Review Score Rating: 2.5 out of 5 (i.e. 2.5/5)

Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata Official Trailer: