The story of Sardar Udham Singh is a fascinating one. According to the reviews, Shoojit Sircar (Yahaan, Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe, Piku) tells the story really well; recreating a bygone era with great accuracy. The other big draw of the movie Sardar Udham is Vicky Kaushal, who does a brilliant job as the titular character. I've seen Vicky Kaushal in Manmarziyaan, Raazi, Masaan and Uri. He does such justice to each role that I could scarcely credit that this is the same man playing each of these very different roles.
Kaushal does a brilliant job as Sardar Udham Singh, say the reviewers. This is the story of Udham Singh who was deeply traumatised by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He avenged the event by assassinating the then Punjab governor, Michael O’Dwyer after 21 years of carrying around an unhealed wound.
Kaushal’s ability to completely commit to and inhabit the skin of the character he plays makes him utterly believable as an actor.
Many stories of the revolutionaries of our independence struggle, such as Bhagat Singh’s Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) remain untold. This movie attempts to change that.
The movie is also includes revolutionary Bhagat Singh briefly in the narrative; focusing particularly his friendship with Udham Singh.
The original choice for playing the role of Udham Singh was Irrfan Khan, who had to back out of the project due to ill-health. Kaushal says it’s an honour to replace him – and he ably honours the memory of another superb actor.
According to historical accounts, he used the name Ram Mohammad Singh Azad while in custody. This was meant to represent the major religions of India and his anti-colonial sentiment.
The movie recreates the England of a hundred years ago faithfully and accurately. We could almost believe that we’re watching reality and not a recreated story, feel viewers.
By all accounts, Sardar Udham is not an easy watch. It is difficult and painful viewing. The realism is stark. This is not a movie for viewers expecting the loud jingoism that usually passes for patriotism in our films.
Though some have called the film ‘slow’ people who appreciate quality cinema have been highly appreciative of a film. This is a film that is heartbreaking but highly gripping as well; one of the finest to come out of Bollywood in a while say many reviewers.
Sardar Udham is a must-watch – for Vicky Kaushal’s performance, Shoojit Sircar’s direction, Avik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography and Shantanu Moitra’s music among other things. It is available now on Amazon Prime Video and is currently the No 1 title on the streaming platform.
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