'Shershaah' movie review: Sidharth Malhotra-Kiara Advani starrer will leave you teary-eyed but won't startle

'Shershaah' movie review: Sidharth Malhotra-Kiara Advani starrer will leave you with moist eyes

Movie cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Shitaf Figar, Shiv Pandit, Nikitin Dheer, Anil Charanjeett and others

Director: Vishnu Varadhan

Duration: 2 hours 15 mintues

Where to watch?: Amazon Prime Video

'Shershaah story': The film Shershaah is a story of PVC awardee brave Indian soldier - Capt. Vikram Batra, who shot to fame and become a household name during the Kargil War in 1999. His indomitable spirit and his unflinching courage in chasing the Pakistani soldiers out of the Indian territory contributed immensely to India finally winning the Kargil War in 1999. 

'Shershaah' review

'Ya toh Tiranga lehrake aaunga, ya toh Tirange mein lipat ke aaunga. Lekin aaunga zaroor!' 

Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani starrer 'Shershaah' will give you goosebumps as you sit through the 2 hours 15 minutes film that retells the story of Captain Vikram Batra's valour on the battlefield, through the words of his twin brother Vishal Batra. 

For those who were very young when the 1999 Kargil War took place, 'Shershaah' will give you a glimpse of what transpired during the war and how the Indian Army managed to capture peaks and tops to hoist the Tricolour and emerge victoriously. Centred around the story of Captain Vikram Batra's grit, determination and unflinching bravery on the battlefield, 'Shershaah' will make you emotional, evoke patriotism in you, make you feel proud of the legacy of the Indian Army and in parts give you an idea of the emotional turmoil of a partner of an Army officer. 

But, before one jumps to any conclusion about how 'filmy' some scenes are or how 'over-the-top' some dialogues are, one must remember that the film is a mere re-telling of Captain Batra's story and director Vishnu Varadhan and the entire team of 'Shershah', has tried to be honest to what 'really' occurred -- from nearly marrying his love interest Dimple Cheema (essayed by Kiara Advani) in a Guru Dwara,  cutting his thumb to fill her maang with blood to the victory call 'Yeh Dil Maange More', these are actually how things panned out and real words that were spoken by the Param Vir Chakra awardee Captain Vikram Batra, in his short-lived life. The Vishnu Varadhan-directed war film, co-produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions and streaming on Amazon Prime Video, puts together pieces of Captain Batra's life etched out of documented details. 

Written by Sandeep Shrivastav, on the face of it, 'Shershaah', looks to impress the audience with Captain Batra's story of supreme sacrifice for his motherland, but it somewhere lacks the energy and the adventurous craft to tell that story in a more powerful way. Sure, 'Shershaah' has its moments and there's no denying it will leave you teary-eyed, but it surely won't startle you. 

'Shershaah' begins with little Captain Vikram Batra (Sidharth Malhotra) taking on a much taller lad who refuses to return Batra's cricket ball. His father, a schoolteacher in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, scolds his son and asks him if he'll be a 'goonda' when he grows up. But Vikram knows what he'll be -- a 'fauji'. 

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The narrative progress from there on and in one scene it is shown how Vikram is spellbound by an episode on Doordarshan on Palampur's Major Somnath Sharma, the first recipient of India's highest gallantry award, and decides to be a 'fauji'. With the dream to become a 'fauji' in his heart, Vikram begins to wear the Army uniform on Independence and Republic Day celebrations in school, to parties and social gatherings to the embarrassment of the rest of his family. But the boy remains unwavering as he has made up his mind to the extent he lets everyone know that he surely will be a 'fauji' one day. 

Cut to, Vikram's life in college where he meets the love of his life Dimple Cheema in a Chandigarh college. As love blossoms, Vikram's family takes a backseat in the narrative and the entire focus remains on the lead cast. While Dimple's Sikh father is against his daughter marrying a Punjabi Khatri boy, she fights back saying she wouldn't marry anyone but Vikram. However, Dimple and Vikram's love story reaches an impasse when the latter is unsure if he should join the Merchant Navy for the sake of his love or the Army, as was his dream. But like we all know, Vikram chooses to go ahead and join the Army and fulfils his dream to serve the country. 

The first half of the film builds up to the moment where Vikram ultimately lays down his life for the country, but it must be pointed out, that the love story of Dimple and Captain Batra has been interwoven beautifully in the screenplay and both Kiara and Sidharth have done a commendable job in portraying the characters. While Kiara's dialect isn't exactly on-point, one has to give it to her for the effort. A talented actress, Kiara gets full marks for getting the emotions right. 

Cut to Captain Batra's first posting in Sopore, where he quickly makes friends in his battalion and around town. Later, on the basis of human intelligence gathered from his source, Captain Batra takes on militant Haider and eliminates him. His first mission was accomplished! 

When he revisits Dimple, a trip cut short due to the declaration of the Kargil War, he reassures her that his love is for the keeps and that he would return to her and they would spend '40 years together'. 

A game-changer movie for Sidharth Malhotra, the film in actuality comes to life in the second half once the battle begins. Without focusing on the beauty of Kashmir and rather capturing the inhabitable, terrifying terrain of the region along with camouflaging bunkers, dangerous cliffs and mountain tops with shelling, grenades and bullets being fired left, right and centre, everything about the battle scenes looks real. 

By this time, you would have hoped that the film should have been released in theatres. 

"Live by chance, love by choice and kill by profession" is 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles lieutenant Vikram Batra's motto who is later promoted to the Captain rank after he successfully captures one of the peaks and then expresses his wish to go ahead and hoist the tri-colour on Point 4875. 

At this point in the film, one feels that the parts for the supporting cast essayed by Shitaf Figar, Shiv Pandit, Nikitin Dheer, Anil Charanjeett, have been underwritten and that they only get very little time to make a mark and show what they've got. One could have done so much more with that kind of a supporting cast. 

As Captain Batra lands on Point 4875 with his team, a bullet pulled by a sniper hidden safely in a bunker hits him as he tries to rescue one of his own. But, Captain Batra keeps his eyes open for those last few moments of his life to see the remaining soldiers capture the Point and hoist the tricolour on the mountain top. 

At the end, when Captain Batra's mortal remains are brought to his town and he is accorded with a gun salute, we see Dimple Cheema break down into tears as she holds her red dupatta in her hand. Well, you will surely shed some tears and that's when you will realise, the film has touched your core and left a lasting impression. 

Just a little more power and this could have been one of the best war dramas of recent times. 

Verdict: Sure, 'Shershaah' has its moments and there's no denying it will leave you teary-eyed, but it surely won't startle you.