Sam Bahadur Movie Review: Vicky Kaushal As Sam Manekshaw Is A Star Reborn

Watch Sam Bahadur for the performance of Vicky Kaushal and for Meghna Gulzar who has set the bar high for other filmmakers attempting the genre or this subject.

New Delhi: 'Sam Bahadur' is Vicky Kaushal's film. It is his performance as the titular character Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw that will move you to tears, make you smile and admire the grit, the brand of army discipline and pure patriotism that he portrays. For many generations who may not have heard of Sam Manekshaw, Meghna Gulzar's film will feel like a history lesson, amply filled with historical footage that spans over five decades of Indian history.

Sam Bahadur Movie Review

'Sam Bahadur' has a documentary-feature quality to it. The film is densely loaded with socio-political history, complex geo-political relations between countries, and political parties. And yet, Meghna Gulzar never indulges in any of these elements or makes a statement about it. 

The filmmaker sticks to her subject, Sam Manekshaw and chronicles some four decades of his life with a sense of awe while treating her subject.

Vicky Kaushal in and as Sam Manekshaw, India's first Field Marshal, delivers a performance, he will be remembered for many many years. 

The actor's attention to detail when it comes to the gait, manner of speech, posture and other mannerisms attributed to Sam Manekshaw will make audiences forget that they are watching Vicky Kaushal on screen: a compliment that every actor ideally aspires for.

Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh play their parts to the T despite having sketchy presences and fully-etched out roles. However, since a major portion of 'Sam Bahadur' revolves around Vicky Kaushal, the actor has the most screen space and a screen presence hard to take your eyes off.

Meghna Gulzar's attention to detail

In 'Sam Bahadur' and in other Meghna Gulzar's films, a lot of attention is given to detail. In the Vicky Kaushal film, the medals, badges, parts of army life and discipline are given their due attention amid the larger-than-life narrative of Sam Manekshaw' life.

Lyrics and songs all act as narrative devices and only have something more to say about Sam Manekshaw or the history that is being portrayed on screen.

Archival footage from Jawaharlal Nehru's 'A Tryst With Destiny' speech, his death, WWII footage from Burma, Sino-Indian War 1962, Indo Pakistani War of 1971 are all sprinkled throughout 'Sam Bahadur'. And, this is cleverly done in a way that the filmmaker does not need to show live action or recreate the infantry and combat battles from these wars.

Some combat is shown in the beginning of the film during the Japanese invasion of Myanmar during WWII. However, that is only done to intensify the emotion and puncture in narrative as Sam Manekshaw is shot.

Sam Bahadur Music

'Sam Bahadur' has a background score that matches the tempo and tonality of the film. The fist-thudding, foot-marching brand of patriotism is complemented by archival radio announcements and news broadcasts about the wars that shaped Indian history ( post partition), and a couple of songs that tend to unify and show the multi-faceted and diverse face of the Indian Army.

Sam Bahadur Edit

The biggest problem that most biopics tend to grapple with is the edit. With 'Sam Bahadur', the challenge looks bigger as the film shows some four decades of the colourful and glorious life of Sam Mankeshaw. 
However, the editing by Nitin Baid and the temporal movement of time and space without indulging in any specific moment from the life of Sam Manekshaw is great.

An observer and admirer's distance is always maintained as the organic and chronological unfolding of the life of Sam Mankeshaw takes place on screen.

To be able to bring down the screen time of a glorious life and momentous moments that created an impact on the larger Indian landscape per se, by one man's contribution, to a two hour thirty minutes run time is a highlight and deserves due attention for what it's worth ( war dramas, especially biographical ones barely have that length).

Sam Bahadur brand of patriotism

Unlike many patriotic films that glorify violence, jingoism and a brand of nationalism that reeks of overstated masculinity, 'Sam Bahadur' comes as a breather.

The film does have the masculine patriotic fervour but that is more inclined towards the valour and respect towards the uniform of the Indian Army and the foundation it was built upon. There is an understated sense of men-only Army and the valour and discipline they bring along but then again, 'Sam Bahadur' chronicles a time when this was how things were done. 

However, this understated brand of patriotism perfectly scored with music and details is brought forward by the lens of a filmmaker, who happens to be a woman. A kind of sensitivity, perhaps a male director could not have brought to a topic like this( recent exceptions include Vishnuvardhan's acclaimed 'Shershaah').

Sam Bahadur screenplay and dialogue

'Sam Bahadur' is a well-rounded film with the perfect amount of show and tell. It also feels like the-just-the-right homage to a figure of Sam Manekshaw. This is done with an interesting use of camera angles, music, background score, performances and dialogue--all a great blend of balance and sensitivity.

As for the dialogue of 'Sam Bahadur', the film's dialogue looks well-placed and compliments the tonality of genre and time without overdoing it.

A small moment in the film, totally unmissable among greater highlights, stood out for the reviewer. 

It happened Sam Manekshaw guides his soldiers to not touch any woman and be gentlemen before soldiers ( during war) felt like such a small puncture in the grander narrative of incidents reported against the Indian Army for many years now. A small moment that a filmmaker like Meghna Gulzar could have brought to highlight and the loaded context with it.

Conclusion

'Sam Bahadur' may not be Meghna Gulzar's best work. Among her other works like 'Raazi', that also play around with patriotism, 'Sam Bahadur' has a lot of unanswered silences in a narrative and loopholes that are left unplugged. Supporting characters appear and vanish at the whim and need of the larger Manekshaw character.

Several topics and sub plots are touched upon without going into detail and then again, the film feels like a sanitized presentation of a larger-than-life character of a man. 

Perhaps, the too-much-awe factor for Sam Manekshaw becomes a hindrance in creating a sense of drama, tension in the screenplay of 'Sam Bahadur, which in comparison to Meghna Gulzar's other works, feels bland.

Despite having that distance and a need to maintain a docu-feature quality, what is sometimes forgotten is that the film is a feature afterall...

To conclude, 'Sam Bahadur' is an engaging watch about a man who deserved such a homage. The film is a mature take on how the biographical war drama genre on patriotism can be done right. 

Watch it for the performance of Vicky Kaushal and for Meghna Gulzar who has set the bar high for other filmmakers attempting the genre or this subject.