Shershaah: Heartfelt ode to a brave-heart

Nonika Singh

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It’s a story that deserves to be told… even if closer home Param Vir Chakra Captain Vikram Batra’s saga of courage is a tale few are unaware of. In bravery-lore the martyr occupies a sterling position. So what happens when the tale leaps on to your small screens as it streams on Amazon Prime Video?

For one you wish the film had been seen on larger than life theatre format. For larger-than-life story as Batra’s deserved a big screen outing. The Kargil 1999 war scenes are so well executed that you miss the real impact the gun fire and the fire within our brave-heart could have created on big screen. Having said that, let it be also said that the film brims with sincerity, fuelled by an earnest performance by lead actor Sidharth Malhotra who also doubles up as Vikram’s twin brother Vishal and anchors the proceedings. Like all biopics this one too goes the extra mile to build the family background of the late Captain Batra. While the movie opens with a war scene, it soon goes back to establish his family life; parents, two sisters and a twin brother besides his love interest Dimple Cheema (Kiara Advani) in particular.

Much of the screen time is spent in his romance. Shot in City Beautiful the romantic angle humanises him alright but also becomes a distraction.

What is refreshing is the director refrains from chest thumping. There is no jingoism or Pakistan bashing, even Pakistan’s former Army chief General Pervez Musharraf’s face is not shown. The narrative set around the Kargil war is primarily about the valorous acts of Captain Batra and the insurmountable challenge he and his unit faced is depicted in the recapturing of Point 5140 and Point 4875, known as Batra top. The war drama is suffused with patriotism without drumming it in so many words. One of the most striking dialogues ‘Tiranga lehra ke aaunga nahi toh us mein lipat kar aaunga” of the film has of course been repeated several times and is not only part of the trailer but of promotional campaigns too. In the film it comes across as not a punch-line to take your breath away but spoken by Sidharth almost in a matter of fact fashion. If Sidharth is in excellent form, Kiara Advani holds her ground too. Only her Punjabi diction leaves a lot to be desired. The directorial attempt to add the Punjabi touch via Punjabi dialogues falls flat, getting neither the flavour nor the pronunciation right. Nevertheless, the love story of Vikram and Dimple, who we learn is single till date, is as endearing and touching as the peerless sacrifice of the 24-year-old war hero. On the flip side, dropping close to India’s 75th Independence Day while the film is a befitting salute to a brave officer, it doesn’t quite move beyond the obvious.

Songs do add to the narrative and the ones that truly touch one’s heart are Man Bharrya and Ranjha by B Praak and Jasleen Royal. Though you do wish the film was more nuanced, heartfelt certainly is the retelling of Captain Vikram Batra’s exemplary courage thus making it to more than watchable meter, if not making the cut all the way.