Sidney Lumet brought his vivid sense of the messiness of human experience to this stark nuclear thriller, which centers on a series of earth-shattering decisions made in quiet rooms.

What does it mean to be worth something? Or worth enough? Or worthless? What does it mean to earn a living?

He diagnoses the Indian prime minister as an authoritarian who is nevertheless averse to the kind of bold change needed to move India beyond its current status of “great power lite.” To realize India’s proper role, Karnad thinks, the country must drop its misguided obsession with Pakistan and focus on China; it should, however, avoid aligning with an overweening and unreliable United States and forge links with other powers, such as Australia, Japan, and the countries of Southeast Asia. India should develop the ability to produce advanced weapons systems domestically, strengthen its influence in Bhutan and Nepal, build military bases on Indian Ocean islands, and adopt a nuclear first-use policy to deter Chinese aggression.