Fateh (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – Fateh, a mystery man who believes he has left his past behind him, devotes himself to starting a tranquil new life in Punjab. However, when a local girl falls victim to cyber mafia and goes missing in Delhi, he is unable to walk away. With his powerful skills, Fateh emerges from self-imposed retirement as an avenging angel, determined to bring down the entire cyber mafia syndicate.

My Take – Though he has been predominantly active in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films for over two decades and won enough acclaim for both supporting and negative roles, Sonu Sood‘s real rise to prominence came for his humanitarian work, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Something which even got him chosen for the ‛SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award’ by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Hence, it doesn’t come as a surprise that for his directorial debut, probably hoping to cash in on his new found deserving fame, he casts himself as the lead of a vigilante tale that delves into the dark world of cyber crime.

Clearly inspired by the likes of the ‘John Wick’ franchise, ‘The Equalizer’ franchise and last year’s Jason Statham lead ‘The Beekeeper’, the resulting film simply delivers what it promises to: an ambitious no-nonsense, unabashed, in-your-face, action-thriller that is gung-ho in its efforts to make this stylized yarn as brutal as possible.

Sure, it doesn’t break new ground in the genre, with tighter scripting, better editing and more nuanced character development it could have been a much stronger experience, nevertheless, it remains a sincere first-time effort from Sonu Sood, as he highlights a relevant social issue while delivering a decent action-packed entertainer for enthusiasts.

The story follows Fateh Singh (Sonu Sood), a former agent of a covert agency, who now lives the life of a clean-cut big hearted supervisor of a dairy farm in a village off Punjab’s Moga town. However, the ruthless killing machine is forced to return to his old ways when his young neighbor Nimrat Kaur (Shiv Jyoti Rajput), who regularly showered him with sisterly love, disappears without a trace upon her last trip to Delhi.

Linking her disappearance to the suicide of a colleague and an online loan scam to which many of his villagers have fallen prey, Fateh heads off to the city find Nimrat and put a stop to the people behind the fraud. He is soon joined by Khushi Sharma (Jacqueline Fernandez), an ethical hacker, who helps Fateh navigate in the dangerous world of cyber crime.

Right from the first frame, we know this is a star vehicle for Sonu Sood who puts his brooding machismo and mean action avatar to the front. Disappointingly, the identity and modus operandi of the antagonists are revealed pretty soon into the film, leaving no real scope for any surprises. Probably because the only point of interest of the narrative revolves around how Fateh will go about the job of dismantling the source of the malware he is out to destroy.

The screenplay, penned by Sonu Sood and writer Ankur Pajni, is fast-paced and engaging, though it falters at times with uneven editing and pretty much crumbles when it gets into technology perils. But what keeps the momentum going are the sleek action sequences that are well-executed and supported by an effective background score that heightens the tension.

As a director Sood shows great flair in the staging of action set pieces with an interesting mix of grim tone and offhanded humor that makes for some genuinely crowd-pleasing moments. We see Fateh has no particular weapon of choice and uses whatever he can lay his hands on – automatic guns, revolvers, knives, cleavers, axes, hammers, anything that can kill without much ado.

There’s groovy style to the action choreography that Lee Whittaker has designed and Vincenzo Condorelli‘s stylish shots make these scenes hit hard, bloody and heavy.

It helps that Sonu Sood perfectly captures the essence of a one-man army who stands tall against injustice. His portrayal is convincing, intense, and, at times, heartfelt, perfectly in sync with the spirit and substance of the film. Jacqueline Fernandez looks drop dead gorgeous and has her few moments to shine.

Sadly, Naseeruddin Shah is wasted in a clichéd and hammy role, while Vijay Raaz manages to stand out as one of the most memorable parts of the film. In supporting roles, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Prakash Belawadi, Shiv Jyoti Rajput and Soundous Essayd Moufakir are decent enough. On the whole, ‘Fateh’ is a basic action romp that delivers the expected entertaining goods.