The Diplomat directed by Shivam Nair, is no doubt a decent watch, but I was a tad disappointed after finishing the film. The reason being, I didn’t feel like the creative team was able to harness the full potential of the film. I think the director should be pretty clear in their mind if they want to take the massy route (where the emphasis is more on creating genuine heroic moments regardless of how much sense they make) or if they want to opt for a more realistic approach and get into the nitty-gritty of the world their film is set in. While watching The Diplomat, I felt as if the team wasn’t able to decide which route to take. I mean, Ek Tha Tiger and Madras Cafe both talk about diplomacy, covert operations, and the spy nexus, and both have a clear thought process behind what they want to do. I understand The Diplomat is based on a true story, but a bit more world-building and a little bit more detailing, especially pertaining to Uzma’s horrifying experience in Buner, would have made the film much more impactful. I felt the entire Buner sequence, when Uzma was taken to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, was dealt with in a very superficial manner. It would definitely have been a haunting experience for the victim, and the way it was presented just didn’t do justice to it, in my eyes. But then again, that’s just my opinion, and you should watch the film and decide for yourself if you liked it or not.
Spoiler Alert
How did Uzma reach Pakistan?
Uzma moved to Malaysia in search of work so that she could give her daughter a better life. She had left a failed marriage and just wanted to start afresh. Uzma’s friend, Shaheen, who ran a cafe in Kuala Lumpur, had assured her that she could stay with him for as long as she wanted. Uzma reached Shaheen’s place, and she realized that she had left her purse in the taxi. Uzma was figuring out what to do when Tahir, a Pakistani man, arrived out of nowhere with her purse in his hand. Eventually, Uzma and Tahir became good friends, and they started spending a lot of time together. Tahir seemed like a genuine guy, and he was helping Uzma look for a job. Uzma opened up in front of Tahir and told him all about her failed marriage and her daughter, Noor. One day, Uzma got to know that her daughter had been diagnosed with thalassemia, and she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t have the money for the treatment, and that’s when Tahir offered her help and asked her to come to Pakistan. I suppose, Uzma believed the man because Tahir had brainwashed her to a certain extent. He pretended to be a nice person and attended to her needs whenever she needed something. But then all of a sudden his behavior changed the moment Uzma stepped foot in Pakistan.
Uzma decided to go to Pakistan to find some naturopathy treatment for her daughter’s ailment, but the moment she crossed the Wagah border and Tahir came to pick her up in his vehicle, she realized that something was not right. Uzma walked right into the trap laid by Tahir. Tahir lived in Buner in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, where, as stated by Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh, even the locals feared going. Uzma was drugged on the way, and Tahir presented her in front of potential buyers, a practice that was quite prevalent in the region. Tahir probably expected to get a good price for Uzma, but the buyers didn’t like what they saw; they wanted a younger girl, and Uzma was 4-5 years too old for them. So Tahir, at the end, decided to get married to Uzma. Firstly, he raped her through the night, and then the next day, he took her to a marriage registrar and got her to sign all the documents. Uzma was beaten and molested, and she was in such a traumatic state of mind that she couldn’t process anything.
How did Uzma enter the Indian Embassy?
Almost all the men in Tahir’s community had multiple wives; beating them and molesting them were things that came very naturally to them. Uzma was in a deplorable condition, and seeing her, one of the women grew sympathetic towards her. She gave her secret phone to Uzma to make a call, and the latter immediately called Shaheen and told her what had happened to her. Shaheen’s husband, Aamir, worked at the Indian embassy, and it was on his advice that Uzma decided to go to Islamabad and ask for help from the Indian diplomats. But the problem was how she would convince Tahir to take her to the embassy? Uzma thought about it, and she felt that her abductors loved one thing more than abusing women, and that was money. She felt that if she could somehow make Tahir believe that she could get him a huge sum of money, then he would listen to her no matter what. So Uzma first pretended she had surrendered to her circumstances. She made Tahir feel that she was ready to make love to him. The next morning, Uzma very casually told Tahir that there was a wedding custom in her family, where the newly wedded couple received a sum of money from the girl’s side of the family. And now that they were married, she would want to take that money and use it for their future child’s well-being. She had Tahir hooked after that, and the moment she told him that the amount could be around 10 lakhs rupees, Tahir could no longer be level-headed about the situation. Uzma told Tahir that one of her relatives, Aamir, worked at the Indian embassy, and she would have to go there to ask him how to get that money transferred. Such was the greed of the man that he agreed to take her there, even though any layman would have known that it was a trap.
The moment Uzma entered the embassy, she seized the opportunity, ran to the inquiry window, and told Ayush, a junior staff member, that her life was in danger. Ayush knew that it could be a bluff, but he listened to his instincts. There was something about Uzma’s eyes that made him believe her. He opened the door and let her in. That was when the deputy high commissioner and a seasoned diplomat, JP Singh, took charge of things, and he verified Uzma’s documents and got to know that she was actually telling the truth.
How did JP Singh trick Tahir?
Uzma took her time to tell JP Singh what had happened with her. JP Singh knew that eventually she would have to give a statement in front of the magistrate and testify that she was not being held in the Indian embassy against her wishes. Uzma was just not ready to go, because she knew that if she went, she would have to confront Tahir. She knew she had done nothing wrong, but it was not easy for her to look into the eyes of her abuser. JP Singh, till then, was in contact with the Indian external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, who was ready to help in whatever capacity she could. It was the pressure from the Indian government that kept the ISI at bay, as otherwise they would not have let Uzma leave so easily. JP Singh knew that it was important for Uzma to make a statement to the press so that the people didn’t blame the Indian government for pressuring her. That’s when JP Singh used his experience and asked his men to tell Tahir that he could come and meet Uzma the next day. The plan was to keep Tahir engaged while Uzma went and gave her statement. The trick worked, and Tahir was left infuriated. He and his men couldn’t imagine that they had been fooled by JP Singh. It felt as if Uzma’s problems were going to end, and she would be sent back to her country. But then around that time, Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national, was arrested in Pakistan, and he was given a death sentence for involvement in espionage. This meant that Uzma’s case was going to be stalled by the authorities. Sushma Swaraj gave a call to JP Singh and told him that things could get ugly from there and he would have to get ready for the difficult times. JP Singh went and told Uzma about it, and he asked her to not lose hope and to put up a fight till the end. Uzma was petrified; she didn’t know if she would have to go back to that godforsaken place where Tahir kept her or not. But she made up her mind to show some courage and not give up so easily.
Was Uzma Able To Reach India?
Taking advantage of the delay, Tahir decided to file a writ petition in the court, demanding custody of his wife, who, according to him, was being held against her wishes. But JP Singh was a step ahead of the ISI and Tahir, and he asked his lawyer, Syed, to file an anticipatory reply before that happened. Syed was one of the good Samaritans who didn’t bat an eye before fighting for the truth.
The judge heard the case, and he ordered Uzma to be present during the final arguments and give her testimony. The judge wanted an on-camera trial, as he knew that it was a sensitive matter and that things could escalate if not dealt with properly. Uzma knew that she had no other option than to go to the court. With great difficulty, Uzma and the Indian diplomatic contingent reached the court. Tahir tried attacking the Indian convoy in the middle, but JP Singh’s fierce tactics didn’t let him do that. The best part was that the Indian external affairs ministry was constantly putting pressure on the Pakistani government. The problem was that, in a state like Pakistan, the government also does not have a lot of say in political matters. It is the military that ultimately pulls the strings, and that is why JP Singh knew that he needed to take each and every step really carefully. Sushma Swaraj talked to Uzma over a call just before she was about to enter into the court. She told Uzma that she didn’t need to be scared, as the entire nation was standing behind her. Uzma felt motivated, and as a result, she was able to tell the court what happened to her. She said that she wanted to go back to her country, and she didn’t want to spend another second in Pakistan. The court ruled in Uzma’s favor, as she was an adult and she had every right to go back to her country. JP Singh and the other staff members took Uzma and came back to the embassy. JP Singh knew that it wouldn’t be so easy to take Uzma to the Wagah border, as it was obvious that Tahir and his men would attack the convoy. Fortunately, the ISI’s hands were tied, as they had been ordered not to do anything that would tarnish the reputation of their country, primarily because the matter had gotten a lot of limelight. Still, Tahir attacked the Indian embassy convoy and tried to kill Uzma. But JP Singh and his men, who were not even trained in armed combat, handled the situation with a lot of bravery and made sure that the daughter of India reached safely back to her country. JP Singh understood Uzma’s plight because he too had been through a lot in his life. He was posted in Kabul when there was a bomb blast in the embassy, and a lot of innocent people ended up losing their lives. JP Singh blamed himself for it, and he felt that he could have done a better job and created a better network. Uzma’s case was personal for him because this time around he wanted to not have any sort of regret. That’s why he took such risks but made sure that Uzma reached India safely.
It was a huge victory for the external affairs ministry and also for the on-ground diplomats, who put their lives at risk and saved Uzma’s life. Later, in a press conference, Uzma spoke about how Minister Sushma Swaraj came to her rescue, and if it hadn’t been for her, she wouldn’t have been able to come back. JP Singh and his team thwarted ISI’s plans and made it pretty clear the kind of aggressive diplomatic approach they wanted to undertake.
