Introduction

Commando: A One Man Army is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Dilip Ghosh and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and Reliance Entertainment.

It is the first instalment of Commando film series. The film features Vidyut Jammwal, Pooja Chopra and Jaideep Ahlawat in the lead roles. Jammwal, who is trained in the Indian martial arts of Kalaripayattu, performs his own stunts and martial arts in the film’s action sequences.

The film was released theatrically on 12 April 2013. It was followed by two sequels, Commando 02: The Black Money Trail in 2017 and Commando 03 in 2019.

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Outline

Indian Commando Karanveer Singh Dogra “Karan”(Vidyut Jamwal) is captured by Chinese officials when his helicopter crashes on the Chinese border during a routine training. Karan and his seniors are unable to convince the Chinese of the former’s innocence. The Chinese decide to brand Karan as a spy to defame India internationally. Feeling the Chinese will not comply, the Indian government order the Indian Army to erase Karan’s record, identity and deny his existence.

Karan is tortured for a year by the Chinese Army but later escapes while being taken to the Chinese Military Court. He runs into a woman named Simrit(Pooja Chopra) , who is running away from a man named AK-74(Jaideep Ahlawat) and his goons. Karan rescues her by fighting off the goons headed by AK-74’s politician brother. He decides to escort Simrit out of the town for her safety but finds himself surrounded by AK-74 and his goons at a bridge. Outnumbered and outgunned, he jumps into the river along with Simrit who later explains AK-74 or Amrit Kanwal Singh wants to marry her for political gain. She reveals that AK-74 has total control over her home town, where he rules with an iron fist through fear. Karan decides to help Simrit, as he feels that the country should be fought for in the inside as well.

AK-74 uses his resources to pursue the duo into the jungle, where Karan uses his expertise in jungle warfare to fight AK-74’s men. However, he is caught by AK-74, who shoots him and throws him down a cliff. He then kills Simrit’s parents as a warning to her.

Karan having survived the fall, goes after AK-74. After combating AK-74’s men and also a assassin sent by the Chinese, Karan defeats AK-74 and rescues Simrit. He takes the captured AK-74 to the town, where he is almost foiled by the police who are in AK-74’s pocket, but is saved in time by his ex superior officer, Colonel Akhilesh Sinha (Darshan Jariwala). Karan proceeds to hang and kill AK-74. It is showed that despite local legend, AK-74 actually only has one blind eye, the other being covered by contact lenses.

Karan then asks the town folk to be fearless and not be afraid of people like AK-74, who rule through fear. He surrenders himself to Colonel Sinha. He tells Simrit his real name and promises to be back.

Cast

• Vidyut Jamwal as Commando Karanveer Singh Dogra (Karan).
• Pooja Chopra as Simrit Kaur.
• Jaideep Ahlawat as Amrit Kanwal (AK-74).
• Jagat Rawat as MP Mahendra Pratap.
• Darshan Jariwala as Colonel Akhilesh Sinha, Karan’s Commanding officer.
• Baljinder Kaur.
• Nathalia Kaur Special appearance (Item song) in “Mungda” song.
• Nathan Barris as Assassin whom Karan has brutal fight with at the end.

Production

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album of Commando was released on 28 March 2013 as digital download on popular digital music platforms, iTunes and Amazon. It contains 5 original tracks. The music was composed by Mannan Shaah, with lyrics penned by Mayur Puri, while the background score has been scored by Prasad Sasthe.

Release

Upon release, Commando garnered mixed to positive reviews from critics.

Box Office

The film earned around ₹35.0 million (US$490,000) on its opening day. The film raked ₹113 million (US$1.6 million) over its first weekend. At its first week,It netted around ₹173 million (US$2.4 million) having decent business in single screens. It finished at around ₹200 million (US$2.8 million) in India.

Alternative Version

Nameless Media, the film’s German distributor, released four limited edition mediabooks in August 2019 that contained a Full Action Version apart from the original uncut version. In this alternative cut, the songs and intermission card have been removed.

Trivia

• At the start, a disclaimer reads that Vidyut Jammwal performed all his stunts without cables or body doubles.
• Vidyut Jammwal is a skilled practitioner of Kalarippayattu, a south Indian martial art, practiced mainly in Kerala.
• During the first fight scene, one of the goons is thrown out of the warehouse, tearing the poster for Vidyut Jammwal’s first movie, Force (2011).
• The Para Commandos are one of the elite commandos of the Indian army.
  • It is considered as a crack force which, after getting deployed behind enemy lines, creates complete mayhem.
  • They have faced action in all the wars fought by the Indian Army.

Commando Series

You can find a full index and outline of the Commando franchise here.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): Dilip Ghosh.
• Producer(s): Vipul Shaha and Sanil Ambani.
• Writer(s): Ritesh Shah.
• Music: Mannan Shaah (songs) and Prasad Sasthe (score).
• Cinematography: Sejal Shah.
• Editor(s): Amitabh Shukla.
• Production: Sunshine Pictures and Reliance Entertainment.
• Distributor(s): Reliance Entertainment.
• Release Date: 12 April 2013.
• Running Time: 124 minutes.
• Rating: Unrated.
• Country: India.
• Language: Hindi.

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