History: Before watching this film you have to know Who the legend Field Marshal Mr. Sam Manekshaw was. He was an integral part of Indian Army & his gallantry is well known & celebrated by the people who knows him well even in today’s date.
Review : Very slickly made movie, pretty evident that a lot of research has gone into its making, intricate details like medal ribbons too have been taken care of, including the sequence of seniority, language, ambience, etc. Very few oversights noticed, like the trucks shown during the move towards the Sittang Bridge (British/Indian forces using Bedford/ Vaxhaul trucks rather than the American (Ford/Chevrolet) trucks shown, the pith hats worn by the two officers were worn backside front (the shorter peak is worn frontside), para wings worn on the chest (Prior to 1976, the wing was worn on the right upper arm). But these can be overlooked and termed symbolic. Kudos to Meghna Gulzar and Ronnie Screwwala for a splendid job done, and Vicky Kaushal doing justice to the role. Am sure he must be under a lot of stress with the kind of responsibility he had on his shoulders.
The movie was special for me as a few scenes were very personal, as my maternal grandfather was also part of the action at Sittang bridge, and my father was posted as a major at HQ Eastern Comd when Sam was the Army Cdr at Calcutta, and lastly, he was part of 50 Para Bde during the Bangladesh War 1971, Tangail drop, the airborne operation shown in the movie.Meghna I think lost the plot and the movie falters exactly where it could have gone for the Kill.
General Jacob’s role in getting the surrender letter signed by General Niazi doesn’t get any mention and what you get is a scene where Sam is speaking on a Mike in his war room advising Pakistanis to surrender and the film then descends to show the now famous actual footage in black and white from films division archives . On the other counts however the film does not disappoint. Vikki does look like Sam Manekshaw in mannerisms and his signature walk.
The songs are really good and so is cinematography though at many places lights have been kept dim to perhaps hide the dissimilarities in the physical features of the actors and the characters they were playing. It’s a good film for those who need a primer on some really interesting part of our history but a person who is aware of the details,would lament the fact that a good opportunity was lost to depict a really good.
The lead character’s personal is upheld in right spirits by the lead actor Vicky kaushal who has individually dominated the entire proceeding. Must be his best performance as a character. The body language he created, proved to be the magnet which keeps all the small pieces kept together for the entirety of 2h40m. Direction and script writing team were found searching in places. Overall, there was no dishonesty in attempt to picturize the magnanimous personality. But, the music and background sequences seemed a bit lackluster. I would always recommend anyone to watch this movie which is very significant in many ways to many generations of people and also for the cinematic talent and effort what the lead actor has put in
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Vicky Kaushal is the shining star of this film. Like Sardar Udham, he plays Sam Manekshaw to the perfection. He has brought his unique persona alive with his mannerisms, his walking hunch, his British style speaking and typical Gentleman soldier was a treat to watch. Sanyal Malhotra as his wife Salloo Manekshaw was epitome of grace and beauty. However, same could not be said about Fatima Sana Sheikh- whose Indira Gandhi is lacklustre at beat. Even Neeraj Kabi’s portrayal of Pt Nehru leaves much to desired. Govind Namdev as Sardar Patel and Anjan Srivastava as YB Chavan looked and acted quite automatically. “Samबहादुर “ is first attempt on biopic of the extraordinary army chief , who was given the honour of India’s first Field Marshal- in most honest and earnest manner.
Last Words : Overall the film was gripping. It sometimes felt like the plot is losing its grip but then you’d find something interesting which will keep you glued to your seat. Vicky Kaushal is evergreen in this kind of films. His performance is well known in Uri Film. Also he delivered his top notch performance on screen.
Verdict – A must watch film by every Indians who are interested in collecting knowledge about Indian history.