Sam Bahadur (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – Based on the life of Sam Manekshaw who was the Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of field marshal.

My Take – Producing a feature adaption on a real-life military hero is quite the hard task. Mainly as despite the material at disposal, the filmmaker and writers involved are bearing the responsibility of presenting their subject not as a caricature but as someone with whom the audience can resonate with.

On that front at least this film need not worry as driven by a high-spirited performance from Vicky Kaushal, we are immediately engulfed into the riveting tale of India’s first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw. A man whose eventful career as a decorated Army officer epitomized bravery and nationalism, leaving behind an indelible mark in the annals of the Indian Army as a larger-than-life persona.

Known for telling complexly woven tales like Talvar (2015) and Raazi (2019), here, director Meghna Gulzar has mounted a relatively straightforward and enthusiastic biopic of a military strategist who never seemed to be in two minds to speak truth to power. Playing out on a vast canvas, the film crams a lifetime into 148 minutes and covers four decades of active military service, five wars, anti-insurgency operations and brushes with two different Prime Ministers.

Yes, the generic approach of the screenplay co-written by Meghna Gulzar, Bhavani Iyer and Shantanu Shrivastava, which consists of a series of snapshots of his long list of accomplishments, all set to a rousing background score, isn’t startlingly innovative, yet it keep us invested.

Particularly as Vicky Kaushal, who emerges as the saving grace for the film, delivers a performance that goes a long way in redeeming its shortcomings. Sinking his teeth so deeply into the character that there are many times you’d feel that you have forgotten the actor and are witnessing the late field marshal himself is on the screen. Kaushal’s intense and intuitive performance presents an incredible tale of a man who loved his uniform and his army more than anything else in the world.

The story follows the life of Army Chief Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw (Vicky Kaushal) and how he came to be known as Sam Bahadur. Right from when he was a young soldier in the pre-Independence India army, who does not have much consideration for rules and yet goes to WWII as a part of a British regiment.

With his dashing, confidence and vocal qualities sweeping over even the harshest of critics. Qualities which help him woo the much courted Siloo (Sanya Malhotra), who he meets at a party and quickly gets married too. Becoming a family man with two daughters, Sam continues serving the army and rises up the ranks, while sharing immense friendship with Yahya Khan (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub), the future third President of Pakistan.

And once India and Pakistan are separated, Sam Maneckshaw becomes the go to man for Jawaharlal Nehru (Neeraj Kabi), India’s first prime minister, and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel (Govind Namdev), India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India, to help Maharaja Hari Singh sign the accession treaty for Kashmir and later the Sino Indian War (1962).

Becoming the voice of solid morale-boosting of the troops, over the years, Maneckshaw is sent to tackle a wide range of issues from internal strife to wars like 1971 Indo-Pakistan war that created Bangladesh under the orders of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (Fatima Sana Shaikh). And each time he stands tall with success.

Working more as an intense character study than an action-heavy war film, the film hits most of its targets. It blends the story of an illustrious life with the exploits of a legendary army man who brought remarkable dexterity to bear upon his job as a soldier and a leader. The writers graft just enough narrative meat on to the condensed storyline to be able to do justice to the charismatic general whose career it explores in the context of the nation’s eventful history before and after Independence.

The battle scenes are sharp and believable and don’t look cosmetically cooked up and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have manages to create a rousing blend of battle cries of different regiments that gives a sense of the vibrant culture of the Indian armed forces.

Unfortunately, the execution falls short of being this routine army inspiration story, checking every stereotype you could name for such films. Given the tone and treatment that the filmmaker opts for, late field marshal Sam Manekshaw’s exploits as an officer and a gentleman add up to a narrative that resorts towards more broad strokes than to delving into the nuances of the titular hero’s evolution as the extraordinarily brave man he became.

A film about Manekshaw’s illustrious life, sadly, deserved better. Not that it’s uninteresting, it just seems like the only thing director Meghna Gulzar had on their minds was to present Kaushal as a dependable actor who can carry off a film on his strong shoulders all by himself. Which too much of its extent is true.

Vicky Kaushal not only assumes the personality of Sam but also imbibes his charming can-do spirit as well. There is hardly any hint of caricature in the tone and tenor. We see four decades of Manekshaw’s life here, and though there’s not much by way of a cosmetic transformation, you can see Kaushal growing into those mannerisms rather than suddenly unleashing them. In short, he’s a blast to watch.

As his supportive wife Sanya Malhotra provides equal charm, while Fatima Sana Shaikh is impressive as Indira Gandhi. There is an understated chemistry between the two which Meghna Gulzar is able to bring to the screen in spite of the two actors playing the two imposing personalities.

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is impressive with and without prosthetics. Neeraj Kabi and Govind Namdeo are effective in their roles too. On the whole, ‘Sam Bahadur’ is a decent tribute to an iconic war hero anchored by an award-worthy turn by Vicky Kaushal.