Sardar Udham Review: Best Acting Of Vicky Kaushal’s Career, Shoojit Sircar Keeps Him Tied In Every Scene

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Amol Parashar, Shaun Scott, Stephen Hogan, Banita Sandhu, Kirsty Averton

Director: Shoojit Sircar

Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Rating: 4/5 (four star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Sardar Udham Review: The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is one of the most heinous and reprehensible mass massacres in world history. On March 13, 1919, British officer General Dyer opened fire on thousands of unarmed people attending a public meeting in this garden in Amritsar. Hundreds were killed, hundreds were injured, hundreds were crippled. It has been more than 100 years since this shameful incident, no member of the British royal family or the British government has ever apologized to India for this. General Dyer died on his own, but Michael O’Dwyer, the governor of the then Punjab province, who drew the outline of the conspiracy, was shot and avenged by Udham Singh, the true son of Mother Bharti, after going to London after about twenty years.

Sardar Udham Review: The Story

The film begins with the Punjab of 1931, where the jailed Udham Singh is released. The police keep a close watch on him, but he somehow manages to escape and starts making contacts to reach London. Through different countries, he reaches London in 1934. And the revolutionaries present there make contact with the Indians. With their help, Udham Singh arranges a pistol for himself. For 6 years he works in different jobs in London. Meanwhile, he learns that on March 13, 1940, a joint session of the East India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society is going to be held at Caxton Hall in London, where Michael O’Dwyer is also invited. Udham Singh arrives here with a gun hidden in his book and shoots six for six at Michael O’Dwyer. Immediately the police present there catches them. They are tried and sentenced to death. Holding a picture of Bhagat Singh in his hand, Udham Singh hangs himself.

Udham Singh is captured after killing General Dyer. The British government and police officers are shocked to learn that they had been planning to kill Dyer by staying in London for the past 6 years. They feel that there is some organization behind this and there are plans to carry out some other big event in the future. Hustle is tortured for asking the names of companions.

Detective John Swain is assigned the responsibility of unearthing the conspiracy behind Dyer’s death. As events unfold, the feel of a spy film begins to creep in. During his stay in London, Udham acted in the film as an extra. Sell ​​lingerie on the street. He also worked as a welder in an iron factory. Bought a Fiat car too. Udham Singh had traveled across Europe through several passports named Sher Singh, Ude Singh, Azad Singh, Fank Brazil. British spies are unable to find out his real name till the end. When asked, he shows a tattoo of the name Ram Mohammad Singh Azad on his hand, which gives the message of unity. In London, Hustle meets communist Elina Palmer, who helps him. With the help of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), fighting for the independence of Ireland, Udham sends arms to the agitators in India. However, they are caught at Kolkata Port.

In the same period, war breaks out between the British and Germany. The British Crown also fears that if Udham Singh is sentenced to death, it may affect the Sikh soldiers fighting on the British side. Eventually, Hustle is tried for Dyer’s murder. John Hutchinson and VK Menon are appointed lawyers, but the defense is denied a chance in court and Hustle is sentenced to death.

Meanwhile, in the flashback, we are shown different phases of Udham Singh’s life. At the age of 17-18, there is an innocence in him, then gradually he is influenced by Bhagat Singh’s words and the passion for the freedom fight rises to his head. He joins the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. But there is a big change in the personality of Udham Singh after seeing the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 in Amritsar. Seeing the massacre with his own eyes, Udham Singh, filled with pain and anger, vows to kill Michael O’Dwyer, the then governor of Punjab. It took him 21 years to fulfill this vow.

Sardar Udham Review and Analysis

Sardar Udham is a very leisurely film, which is a way to get a closer feel for the freedom fighters. There is a departure and pause in the dialogues of the film. There is no dialogue Baazi of Fizzul. While there is a lot of scope for going over-the-top in such stories, Sardar Udham makes his point in a practical and balanced way. The linguistic boundaries of the characters have been taken care of in the dialogues. Udham Singh speaks broken English along with Hindi. English characters do not forcefully speak Hindi. Russian characters speak Russian. Subtitles have been used.

There is excellent use of silence in many scenes. During his stay in London, the hustle arrives at the grave of Brigadier General Reginald Dyer, who died in 1927, who ordered the firing at Jallianwala Bagh. In this scene only the eyes and facial expressions showed the pain inside the hustle, which he must have felt when he saw the thousands of dead bodies lying in Jallianwala Bagh as a teenager. The writing team has done a great job in crafting the characters. The conceit of being British is clearly visible in the character of Michael O’Dwyer. He has no remorse for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He calls countries like Africa and India the Burden of Whitman and considers it a duty to rule over them.

Shoojit Sircar had said that he had come to Mumbai to make this film and after almost 20 years his dream has been fulfilled. Sardar’s hustle is the sweet fruit of Shoojit’s wait. The film is technically very advanced. The way the attention to detail has been given, it is going to give competition to international films. The set designing and costume designing (Veera Kapoor) has done a great job in recreating British era Amritsar and London. The cars, buses, offices, telephones, uniforms, buildings, roads, guns… everything seems perfect. The cinematography (Avik Mukhopadhyay) and editing departments have helped in bringing out the vintage look of the film. Sardar Udham is Shoojit Sircar style cinema, in which it can be enjoyed only by drowning.

The director has told the story of Udham’s life in short flashbacks since fulfilling the purpose of life. In which Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Udham’s personal connect with it, friendship with Bhagat Singh, help from Irish rebels and moments from his personal life. Vicky Kaushal has brought alive the character of Udham Singh. His acting and gestures are gentle. He did not falter in any scene. Vicky Kaushal has played the role of a boy from an adult to a teenage boy in a merry style. He has already introduced his talent but this role raises the graph of his career. He presents a strong claim in the line of best actors of the industry. There is not much detail in the role of Banita Sandhu. She doesn’t even say dialogues here but manages to create an impact with gestures. Sean Scott as Michael O’Dwyer and Stephen Hogan as Fussy’s lawyer also fit their roles. Amol Parashar is here in the role of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. Sardar Udham Review: This is the story of Jallianwala Bagh’s revenge, Vicky Kaushal showed his power

Sardar Udham Review: Star Performances

In the character of Udham Singh (Vicky Kaushal) has settled in such a way that he does not take his eyes off him. Be it Udham Singh’s rapport with Bhagat Singh, a gullibility in personality with his girlfriend, the pain of seeing the Jallianwala Bagh massacre with his eyes or the anger after losing loved ones. Every expression on Vicky Kaushal’s face is heart touching. Huh. Udham Singh’s personality change with every incident has been shown well by the actor. The praise of Vicky Kaushal for this film is less. Banita Sandhu has done justice to her character as Udham Singh’s friend/girlfriend. Amol Parashar as Bhagat Singh is in a small role but looks good. At the same time, Sean Scott, Stephen Hogan, Kirsty Everton have been excellent in the characters of the Britishers.

Sardar Udham Review: Direction and Other Elements

There is a pause in Shoojit Sircar’s films. Piku, Madras Cafe, October… All the films have dialogues as well as a silence, which is quite effective. In the film ‘Sardar Udham’ also these things are realized from the first scene. He has tied the character of Sardar Udham very well. The story pretty much flashbacks and moves in the present but doesn’t distract. The special thing is that he has shaped every character brilliantly. Be it the freedom fighters fighting for the independence of India in Punjab or the British ruling in London. Where the film gets stuck is the last 30 minutes. The most important part of the film is the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but it seems stretched and repetitive after a few minutes. For an event to be effective, it is not necessary to show it for a long time. However, making films on history is not easy, but Shoojit Sircar has done a good job from the smallest facts to the locations.

The film looks strong on the technical side. The production design by Manasi Dhruv Mehta, Dmitry Malich is superb. The story of the film runs from 1919 to 1940 and the film does not disappoint anywhere in terms of locations and sets. The sound design of the film is done by Dipankar Jojo Chaki and Nihar Ranjan Samal, which goes well with the story. Avik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography makes the film effective. From Punjab to Russia and London, he has captured the best in his camera. An important part of the film is editing, done by Chandrashekhar Prajapati, but the film looks a bit weak in this respect. The film could have easily been shortened to 15 to 20 minutes, which doesn’t detract from its impact. Due to the length of the film, some scenes are repetitive. The dialogues penned by Ritesh Shah will keep you hooked to the film. Let us tell you, most of the dialogues of the film are in English language, while some part is in Punjabi.

Sardar Udham Review: The Final Words

This story of the brave revolutionary Sardar Udham Singh of the country touches the heart. During the freedom struggle, the country went through many incidents, some incidents were discussed, while some got buried in the pages of history. Shoojit Sircar has brought the story of Udham Singh out of the buried page. The director has done complete justice to the film. At the same time, Vicky Kaushal has performed brilliantly in the role of Sardar Udham.