Shershaah, directed by Vishnu Varadhan, is a film based on Captain Vikram Batra who sacrificed his life while fighting in the Kargil War. The film talks about the life of this brave soldier – from being a young boy in a small Himachali town of Palampur to leading troops on missions to recapture strategic peaks & points overtaken by the Pakistani army & thus playing a huge role in India’s victory. The courage shown by Captain Batra to save the life of another soldier, and in the process exposing himself to enemy fire, cost him his own life. For his unparalleled courage and determination he was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military honour.
Without any prior knowledge about Captain Batra’s life, this whole film could have felt way too dramatic and perhaps would have been categorized with the other mainstream Bollywood ‘masala’ films. But all the scenes which might make you question the script are directly taken from Batra’s real life. Sidharth Malhotra shines as Captain Vikram Batra. While at times you may feel that Sidharth is overdoing it, the post credit scene which features the real life Captain Batra giving an interview, will prove that no one could have done this role better than Sidharth.
Kiara, who plays the role of Vikram’s love interest Dimple Cheema, is simple and adorable but her Punjabi accent doesn’t really make her seem like a ‘sardaarni’. Dimple played a major role in Vikram’s life & the use of this particular element could’ve been executed in a much better way. Though their amazing chemistry compensates for the poor dialogue writing.
The supporting star cast includes Shiv Pandit as Captain Jamwal, Nikitin Dheer as Major Ajay Singh Jasrotia aka Jassi, Sahil Vaid as Sunny, Shataf Figar as Col. Joshi and many others in significant roles. There was so much potential in the supporting cast but Shershaah fails to utilise them fully. The climax scene will end up leaving you misty-eyed with the perfect background score sung by B Praak.
All in all, the simple storyline and the hard work put in by the cast and crew is clearly visible in the film & the story of Captain Vikram Batra holds above everything else, making Shershaah the perfect film to watch this Independence Day weekend on Amazon Prime.
