‘Sam Bahadur’ Movie Review: Vicky Kaushal’s brave act needed a better commander

It is a litmus test for any actor when he steps into the shoes of someone who is not a fictional character, but a real-life person.

And if the person is not just an ordinary human but a highly rewarded, respected and well-known figure, then the challenge becomes even bigger. Taking on the mammoth task of playing one of the Indian Army’s finest officers — Sam Manekshaw, filmmaker Meghna Gulzar takes on her career’s most challenging project.

For lead actor Vicky Kaushal, who has shone bright in previous semi-biopic roles such as Sardar Udham Singh, Sam Bahadur must have been an offer that would have been hard to resist. But does he crumble under the weight of expectations or soars sky-high? Let’s find out.

The film chronicles Manekshaw’s early days, giving us an insight into his grit and determination. It then jumps right into the period that made him Sam Bahadur from Sam Manekshaw. Why Bahadur? A scene in the film shows Sam asking a soldier what his name is. The bloke in front of him trembles in fear that he might mispronounce his last name and goes with, ‘Sam Bahadur sir!’ Manekshaw breaks into a smile. A well-written scene that has a purpose, but unfortunately, one that is also a rare find in a film that struggles to join the dots and deep dive into the psyche of the man on the poster.

Meghna Gulzar has the correct mechanism and an army of people to put together her film, but what is lacking is the finesse to extract the correct emotion and connect with our main guy. The war scenes are fine, we have seen them before. The insight into a war room and a slant hint at the playful flirtation between Sam and Indira Gandhi is also somewhat captivating. But overall, you are floating on the surface, unable to sink into the flesh and bones of what would make Sam Bahadur a delicious meal.

The biggest issue with the film is how disjointed it feels. The jump cuts from one moment to another are jarring. Let the audience stay with a scene and feel the emotion! Instead, the filmmaker seems to be a in a rush to catch up to the grey streaks in Sam’s hairline, a reminder of how fast the story is moving in timeline. The dialogues are heavy and some scenes feel like they could have been left on the edit table.

Vicky Kaushal’s performance is sincere but sketchy. In most parts of the film, he feels bogged down by the effort to ape Sam Bahadur. From his walk, his mannerisms, to the way he would pucker up his lips or walk with a hunch, all of it feels a bit like a sketch. But then there are also moments where he shines through the grey clouds of incoherent writing. The fault doesn’t lie with the actor but the editors and writers who wrote good parts but couldn’t stitch them together.

Sanya Malhotra as Sam’s wife and Fatima Sana Shaikh as Indira Gandhi are two very important women in the film. Both very different from each other, yet bound by the common thread of the man around whom their lives revolved. Both their performances shine through the murky waters, especially Sanya’s, who shows her unhappiness and frustration most of the time through her poignant pauses and seemingly lost stares at her husband.