Sam Bahadur movie review: Vicky Kaushal is a ten on ten but the dull screenplay makes him lose the final battle.
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Sanya Malhotra, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub
Director: Meghana Gulzar
Writers: Meghana Gulzar, Bhavani Iyer, Shantanu Srivastava
There is a scene in Sam Bahadur where Sam (Vicky Kaushal) is seen boasting the morale of his soldiers by quoting a Kabir shabad from Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The lines translate as, “He who fights alone; who fights for the downtrodden, he may get cut into pieces, but he will never leave the battlefield.”
In Meghana Gulzar’s latest outing, it’s Vicky Kaushal who turns out to be that brave warrior, never disappointing you even for a second even when the writing lacks a spark.
What’s Yay: Vicky Kaushal
What’s Nay: Humdrum screenplay
Story
In the opening sequence of Sam Bahadur, a Parsi couple decides to rechristen their baby’s name from Cyrus to Sam post an incident in their neighborhood. The following shot establishes how the legend earned the moniker ‘Sam Bahadur’.
Over the next two hours and a half, Meghana Gulzar pulls out some chapters from Sam Manekshaw’s life in a non-linear manner. We watch Sam being punished for a fun late-nightout as a cadet. Before you could take a breath, Meghana throws you into another time zone where Sam, now a platoon commander is seen getting dirty in the boxing pit. We even get a glimpse of how the braveheart survived multiple bullet injuries in his stomach during World War II
Sam Bahadur then proceeds to explore some landmark incidents from his glorious four-decade career in context of India’s history pre and post Independence before he retired from his service.
Direction
The research of over 7000 pages around one of India’s most illustrious military figures clearly reflects in Meghana Gulzar’s Sam Bahadur when it comes to the production value. Be it the military equipment used back then or the army drills, the filmmaker’s keen eye for detailing leaves you mighty impressed.
While Sam Bahadur steers clear of a jingoistic tone, it’s the dull screenplay with an occasional sprinkle of humour which plays a major spoilsport in making you cheer for the film from the first frame till the last. The Vicky Kaushal starrer comes across more like a mechanical summary of Sam Manekshaw’s life rather than an engaging watch featuring ‘flesh and blood’ characters.
One of the most disappointing things about Sam Bahadur is that we rarely get to know how Sam Manekshaw was as a person. We never learn about his childhood or his siblings or what inspired him to join the army. Yes, we do get a glimpse of his sassy humour from his exchanges with his wife Siloo and his domestic help who is more worried about the size of the kitchen as the family keeps moving places owing to Sam’s transfers.
Further, the rushed end also makes you feel a bit underwhelmed. In short, you crave for emotional depth in the material.
Performances
Sam Bahadur belongs to only one man and that’s Vicky Kaushal. With his Dev Anand-like sing-song voice, lilting gait and the glint in his light-eyes, the actor seems to be having a blast playing the character on the screen and that translates to the audience as well. The way Kaushal portrays Sam Manekshaw’s flamboyance and gentlemanly behavior is every bit charming. Right from the time he appears on screen, there is not a single moment where you’ll find Vicky on screen.
Sanya Malhotra as Sam’s wife Siloo, dressed in Gara embroidered saris and serving dishes like ‘Lagan nu Custard and Dhansak’, tries to be more than that and almost succeeds with her forlorn eyes. Fatima Sana Shaikh who plays Indira Gandhi is reduced to just a dramatic character who shares some undercurrent of female rivalry with Siloo.
Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub gets a momentary heart-warming scene with Vicky in the first half. But that joy doesn’t last for long when he makes an appearance again with heavy prosthetics to play aged Yahya Khan.
Technical Aspects
Jay I Patel’s camerawork is successful in capturing the authentic frames of the film and transport you back in time. Nitin Baid’s editing goes well with the film.
Music
Shankar Ehsaan Loy fail to weave magic with their music instruments this time. Sonu Nigam-Shreya Ghoshal’s ‘Itni Si Baat’ might slowly grow on you but the rest of the songs (‘Badhte Chalo’, ‘Banda’ and ‘Dum Hai Toh Aaja’) fall short of injecting a dose of patriotism in your veins.
Verdict
Throughout the film, Vicky Kaushal‘s Sam Bahadur is heard saying, “It’s okay, sweetie.” If only we could agree to that! (except for the actor’s lively performance).
