New Delhi, March 14 -- Hindi cinema's pathological obsession with Pakistan is so consistent that I just take it as a given now. Sometimes a film so virulent and stupid comes along-Gadar 2 (2023), Fighter (2024)-that it breaks the surface, but mostly it's a lot of forgettable posturing and flag-waving. On some rare occasions, a film will introduce notes of doubt, or grace. I've come to expect it from Yash Raj's action films, which treat cross-border matters with a strange mixture of cartoon villainy, human feeling and grudging respect. Sometimes it happens unexpectedly, like the recent war film Sky Force, which starts off strident but deescalates as it goes along.

It's not like The Diplomat doesn't take cheap shots. Every 20 minutes or so...