By Joginder Tuteja
Watching Sardar Udham reminded me of Black Friday. The Anurag Kashyap directed dramatic thriller was an entertaining affair as it also started with a bang and then took a viewer into the backstory of the perpetrator. Why were the bombs placed all over Mumbai? Who were the men who executed the plan? What was the thought process behind these acts? What was the trigger point behind it all?
Similarity, even in Sardar Udham, you get to see a killing (or an act of revolution/protest, as claimed by the central protagonist) right at the beginning. The story then goes back and forth in time. Who was Udham Singh (Vicky Kaushal)? How did he enter London? Who were the men with whom he hatched the plan? What was the genesis of the revolution? What was his connect with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that led him to assassinate General Reginald Dyer?
So far, so good. After all, a saga like this is meant to be get into the specifics as well. It’s just that unlike Black Friday which unfolded in the chapter format but maintained the thrills one sequence after another, Sardar Udham surprisingly remains largely stagnant with a slow paced narrative. There aren’t practically any dramatic high points that make you get to the edge of the seat and watch the horror unfold. Yes, there is 30 minute long sequence set during and after the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh. However, what could have been conveyed in 10 minutes only ends up getting repetitive with practically the same scene (that of Sardar Udham trying to save the lives of the injured) coming on screen over and over again. Agreed that the intent behind this must have been to take a viewer into the horror zone of helplessness. Still, there is a lot overdone here.
Even otherwise, you do miss a lot of pieces that could have infused the turn of events in those 20 odd years between the massacre and the eventual assassination. Why was Udham Singh jailed in India for 4 years? What was his thought process during those 6 years in India? How was his relationship with IRA, Russia and the native Indians in London leading to the assassination plan? Was he indeed been funded and driven by other Indian and foreign bodies?
It is mentioned during the end credits that Sardar Udham’s files are still classified, and hence one can well imagine that there is a lot more than what meets the eyes. So far, so okay. However, had the narrative been fast paced and the turn of events quicker then as a viewer you wouldn’t have got down to thinking so much about the missing pieces.
That said, as a production, one has to give full marks to Shoojit Sircar, Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar for giving Sardar Udham an international look and feel. You tend to believe that this is an international production, given the overall design, sets, locales, cinematography, lighting, sound design and costumes. Yes, background score could have been better to bring on a thriller mood but still, overall as a visual packaging, Sardar Udham comes across as a top notch international product.
In that aspect, the film is bound to find some awards coming its way for the way it has been set and designed. As an entertainer though, the film could have been helmed better by Shoojit Sircar. I had all the more expectations since he is the same man who has helmed a geo-political thriller like Madras Cafe so very well, and a similar treatment could have only made Sardar Udham a far more entertaining affair.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️1/2
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