Sardar Udham

I was crying the whole second half of the film. The core emotion of that last hour was so heavy that your tears will automatically fall out. The documentation style of approach to the story definitely made the viewing experience very personal and interactive. The screenplay in the first half does confused me a bit but it did the job of making me invested in the actuality.

This movie is a masterpiece. Loved that it presented the true facts and was not altered for the sake of commercialism. The last half an hour of the movie is heart wrenching. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre left a deep impact on the entire nation. The movie feels a bit stretched in between as the scenes keep ping ponging between present and the flashback. Vicky Kaushal gives his best performance. This movie deserves an Oscar nomination.

This is not an easy movie to recommend. I was on the verge of turning it off unable to take it any more but out of respect, somehow kept going. Never ever has Jallianwala Baug massacre portrayed this way in history of cinema. This is however the most important film to come out in recent times.

Yes this is about Sardar Udham Sign but it is also about millions of Indians who sacrificed themselves for the freedom we enjoy in modern India and take it for granted. It is very intelligently written, the production design is on a level Bollywood hasn't seen in a long long time. The sound design and background score is skillfully done and the editing is just how I like it. Shoojit Sircar has obviously worked with DoP to capture every frame masterfully. Technically this is near perfect.

I would've given minus stars but didn't have heart to give it to the marketing department, producers and distributors. This movie should be screened in all the film festivals and has potential to be India's oscar entry for this year. Wake up people.

Finally, I just want to say this movie should also be in British high school curriculum. Of course, it's wishful thinking.

I watched this movie on Prime and would say, it was worth an effort from director, creators and of course, actors.

It's slow burn but never fall short of the subject matter or the descriptions. Every character is given ample amount of time, every scene is elaborated and the whole focus remains upon the subject. The creators have played the dice to showcase the actual events in reverse order, however, keeping in mind that no sequence remains unsitched.

Moreover, I liked the depection of the first part of the 20th century, that is the locations, costumes, habits etc.

Saying so, yaa, I did feel that in some places, it could have been a bit fast in pace and skipped a few incidents so as to reduce the time from 2 hrs 45 mins to like 2 hrs and 20 mins here and there. And that's where I would cut 2 points. But, a very good film and definitely watchable. Keep your patience and time with you, and you won't regret it.

Sardar Udham review :

Of all the movies Shoojit Sircar has made till date, this has to be the most technically brilliant one. Capturing the landscape from Amristar to London, the shots appear like a beautiful painting on celluloid. The art design, recreating the 1930s and early '40s when most of this film is based, is top class. Sardar Udham is also the most unconventional historical movie made in Indian cinema. If you are looking for entertainment or patriotic jingoism here, sorry but this is just not the movie for you!!

Indeed, Sardar Udham is a highly realistic and at times, harrowing depiction of the relatively unknown freedom fighter who decides to avenge the Jallianwala Baug massacre. Travelling all the way to London to execute the two officials responsible for the most inhuman act in British India, Udham Singh takes a long time to execute his plan. But he is successful at the end.

Narrated non-linearly, the film may get tad difficult for the aam junta not used to such treatment as well as those who are not so well versed with the historical events of that period specially those second world war references and the communists' role in it. Udham Singh's torture scenes in British jail are also extremely discomforting to watch.

Vicky Kaushal, in the titular role, delivers his career best performance. This one deserves a National award, no less!! Kirsty Averton as Eileen Palmer, Udham's sympathizer from the local Communist party, is a standout. The other firangi actors are earnest and thankfully, talk in English instead of that oh-so-familiar accented Hindi patented by Bob Christo.

Sardar Udham reaches its pinnacle in the last forty minutes dedicated to the Jallianwala Baug tragedy. I have read and seen this event many times before but trust me, was never ever shaken so much!! It is a heart wrenching watch sure to move you to tears.

Finally, films like Sardar Udham need to be made and the sacrifice of these great freedom fighters deserve much more attention than just a footnote accorded to them in our school history books.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.