Sam Bahadur Review - Vicky Kaushal Is OUTSTANDING As Sam Manekshaw, Bro Lived The Character!

Sam Bahadur Review: Meghna Gulzar forays into the war-biographical genre with Sam Bahadur , starring Vicky Kaushal, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Sanya Malhotra. Sam Bahadur is not a regular war film, but since it's a biopic of a military man, it has to have those war scenes and be called a film of the war genre. That makes things difficult for the film as biographical is more like a story-driven genre and war genre is more curved towards action and explosion zones. Despite knowing this challenge and the mood of today's audiences, Meghna took the bet and successfully conquered the area she was looking for. With war dramas, I go back to great flicks like The Charge of The Light Brigade (1936), They Died With Their Boots On (1941), Uncertain Glory (1944), Objective Burma (1945), and then to modern classics like Patton (1970)—these remain unbeaten because they were made in those eras, when nobody actually dared telling those stories, and also because the storytelling was damn powerful. Sam Bahadur is set in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and early 70s, so I can say that it is too late to make a film now. It's almost 5 decades late to knock on the door, but did we have enough vision for biopics (especially in the war genre) back then? So, that's settled. It's a mixed bag compared to what people usually expect from a war film based on the India vs. Pakistan conflict. But we know that not every film can be Gadar, even though Uri and Sam Bahadur are more real than Sunny Deol's loud fictional tale.In India, we hardly have any great films in this zone. Haqeeqat (1964) could be the one, and then there was Border (1997), which was more into the jingoistic war zone. Vicky has earlier exposed a brilliant mic-drop burn with Sardar Udham, and that's not a war film, even though it was a war story—off the border. Sam Bahadur stays away, only to find its own existence, and by the time you finish watching it, you'll be forced to stand up and salute Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw for whatever he has done for our country and to Vicky Kaushal for whatever he has done in this movie. I don't know how many times people saluted Vicky Kaushal in the film and how many times Vicky Kaushal saluted others, but I want to salute him for the OUTSTANDING portrayal of Sam Manekshaw on the big screen. Hands down. He has not acted; Bro has lived the character.Sam Bahadur begins with Sam's birth scene, as the Parsi parents want a better and different name. In the next scene, we see a backshot of Vicky Kaushal walking in and asking one of his soldiers his name. The local soldier replies, "Sam..." He can't say "Manekshaw"—maybe due to poor English. Then he shouts, "Bahadur. Sam Bahadur!". The allegorical vision of the writer and director is seen and acknowledged there. The film continues with young Sam (Vicky Kaushal) falling in love with Siloo (Sanya Malhotra) at first sight. He is then sent to different regiments, as all his transfers have been highly successful. No conspiracy can stop him, and so Kaul's inquiry commission doesn't bother him much. While Sam knows there are hints of war and wants to be on the field again, Nehru Ji's death brings the government and their actions to a halt. But there is an emerging sensation called Indira Gandhi (Fatima Sana Shaikh), who has full faith in Sam and gives him a free hand with military activities. Sam does not fail her and builds a strong team in almost every corner of the country. The conclusion portion shows 1971 war events and Sam's retirement plans, leaving all of us in awe of the legendary personality called "Sam Manekshaw."Sam Bahadur has flaws in the writing and screenplay, and they remind you that the filmmaking is not fully updated. When Sam joins the Tezpur regiment after the embarrassment of 1962, he gives a speech that is surely encouraging. Then we see a random soldier saying, "We needed someone like him to tell us what to do." I mean, bro, that's too dated for 2023. Sam and Indira's flirting and Siloo's possessive behaviour annoy you after a while. Maybe it was true, but the background score and comic touch were like, "Wait.. it's too much. It's going somewhere else." The visual effects during some war sequences are poor. The Army camps could have been presented in a better way. The pace should have been more speedy, and a little bit of jingoism wouldn't have hurt Uri-era audiences. One of the ministers pronounces Sam as "Sham ji," and I am damn sure half the audience won't understand the actual joke here. Well, Vicky's real-life father's name is "Sham Kaushal. Now say, "Hell, that's hilarious!"Vicky Kaushal, as Sam Manekshaw, makes sure that you don't take your eyes off the screen whenever he is there. Let me tell you, he is there in literally 97% of the scenes, so that means you don't get many chances to take your eyes off him and ultimately the film. What more can I say? He deserves a bunch of awards next year. Hands down to one of the greatest performances in biopic movies in the history of Bollywood. Fatima has done a fabulous job with the voice of Indira Gandhi, but her looks don't really match the required details. Sanya Malhotra is cute as Siloo, Neeraj Kabi is okay in the role of Jawaharlal Nehru, Govind Namdev is decent as Sardar Patel, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Yayha Khan has a very little to do, Ravi Sharma is overdramatic as Pak general, and there is a big supporting cast in minimal roles, and all have done pretty okay.Sam Bahadur is technically a good film if you have to consider the budget. However, I should argue that the scale is too minimal for such a big story. Why compromise with the methods of storytelling while handling the man's story who never compromised with his methods? Meghna does well otherwise. In the ending scene, Sam looks at the office compound, and we all know how emotional the moment is for the man who once said that "Army is his life." But he does not cry, nor do we hear any melodramatic music in the background. Well done, Meghna. She knew how old and dated these theories were. She keeps it real and evident, but maybe that's the problem for our massy audience. They can't understand the simple fact that a real-life story can never be as adventurous as a fictional story that one can imagine without any restrictions. Sam Bahadur is too true to its main context, and that somewhere caused a loss of entertainment. Nevertheless, you should watch it to learn about the life of the most amazing soldier in India, who had the guts to speak loud and clear even in front of the prime minister, ministers, and his seniors for his country and for his soldiers. Besides that, Vicky Kaushal's performance alone is worth twice as much of your money.