‘Sardar Udham’ - A great sequence and a lost opportunity

After watching ‘Sardar Udham’, these words from Rahul Desai’s review resonate with me: “Should we appreciate a film for what it isn’t over what it is? When a scene doesn’t go wrong in all the usual ways, does that mean it’s right?”

Sardar Udham is a technical knockout. It is amongst the very few Hindi films that can compete in cinematography and production design with any nation out there.

The last hour, which is the reproduction of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, is heart-wrenching. I don’t remember the last time I watched such a long sequence that is so brutal. Yet despite being so detailed, it doesn’t feel voyeuristic or jingoistic.

Which brings me to the part before the massacre and Desai’s words. By choosing to place the massacre at the end and shed slow, repeated light on Udham’s activities before he assassinated O’Dwyer, the film prevented itself from becoming a bloodthirsty call for vengeance. However, it also took away from the emotion of remaining vested in Udham’s adventures until the massacre was shown. Perhaps, a chopping of about 20-30 minutes would’ve have said the same things but in a more intense manner.

Lastly, Vicky Kaushal performance felt earnest but surprisingly wasn’t a knockout. I shudder to think what Irrfan’s eyes would have achieved!

All in all, it is a film definitely worth experiencing for its technicalities and reliving the horror of the massacre but the film falls short of the greatness it could’ve achieved.