Shershaah Review Story of a brave son of a middle-class family Shershaah released on Amazon Prime Video, should not be seen as a just war or a biopic of a brave young officer who sacrificed his country, but it is the story of every middle-class family living in small towns and cities of India. Whose 14-year-old son falls in love with the military uniform after seeing the heroic saga of Major Somnath Sharma in the serial ‘Param Vir Chakra’ on Doordarshan and makes this love the purpose of his life.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the 90s to join the engineering and medical profession to give flight to his dreams, he chooses the military as his profession and, at the age of just 25, writes an indelible tale of bravery and martyrdom on the chest of snow-clad mountains. Smiling says farewell to the world.
The life of Captain Vikram Batra, who received the Param Vir Chakra, the Army’s highest honor for his valor in the Kargil war, has been brought to the big screen by director Vishnu Vardhan, whose first Hindi and war film. Vishnu has previously directed films in South Indian languages.
Writer Sandeep Srivastava presents Shershah’s story on screen from the perspective of Vishal Batra, the twin brother of Captain Vikram Batra, brimming with childhood memories of his college life, love, and army recruitment to martyrdom in the Kargil War. . Shershaah showcases Captain Batra’s humanitarian aspect to his patriotism and willingness to sacrifice. There is excitement in it, but not an unnecessary frenzy.
The film begins with the childhood scenes of Captain Vikram Batra. Father exhorts Vikram when he clashes with his elder children that he will grow up to be a goon. Vikram says that he has thought, what to become. The story moves forward with Vishal’s narration.
Vikram reaches college. There is a meeting with Dimple who is studying together in class. Both fall in love. Dimple is Sikh and Vikram Batra is Punjabi Khatri. Dimple’s father does not accept the relationship. Vikram keeps a plan B ready to marry Dimple and wants to join the merchant navy. But, then after persuading friends, he realizes that his dream is the army. Eventually, after passing the SSB, Vikram becomes a lieutenant and gets the first posting in the 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment.
Lt. Vikram Batra is a lively, friendly, and spirited young officer who, as easily as he mixes with his peers, strikes up ties with local Kashmiris as fluidly. Though Saathi cautions that Kashmiris should not be trusted, Vikram wonders how to win their trust when we don’t believe them.
The story progresses. Kargil war breaks out. The footage of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee giving a strong reply to the enemies through the footage has been used here. At the same time, a glimpse of the very famous episode of Captain Saurabh Kalia is also shown, who was captured by the Pakistani army with a platoon during the Kargil war and tortured in an inhuman manner. This matter was in the news a lot at that time.
Lt. YK Joshi Sensing the spirit of Captain Vikram Batra and Capt. Sanjeev Jamwal, Lt Col YK Joshi sends their platoon on an important mission, in which both are successful. In this mission, the codename of Captain Vikram Batra is Sher Shah and the signal of victory is Yeh Dil Maange More.
After this success, the next mission is to rescue Point 4875, which is strategically very important. Captain Batra asks permission to lead this mission. Take. The colonel, seeing their heartfelt spirit, sends them on a mission to capture 4875. The mission is successful, but Captain Batra dies while rescuing the wounded soldier.
The height at which the Kargil war was fought. Going to that height and shooting battle scenes is really an act of courage. In a conversation with Jagran.com, director Vishnu Vardhan had told that the scenes have been shot with the cast and crew at an altitude of about 12-14 thousand feet. This is the first film that has been shot in those areas of Kargil. The hard work of Sher Shah’s cast and crew is also visible in these battle scenes.
Climbing inaccessible hills and capturing scenes with war material on camera would not have been easy. The film also picks up pace with these scenes and impresses the most. Siddharth Malhotra has done a good job in the character of Captain Vikram Batra.
He has been able to bring on screen the enthusiasm and zeal that was required for this character. Kiara Advani has been successful in conveying the expressions of the character of Dimple. However, both artists could have done a better job on the pronunciation of the local language.
In Siddharth’s Punjabi, the effect of less Delhi of the mountains is more visible. At the same time, Kiara’s Punjabi accent also seems over. The entire focus has been placed on the character of Captain Vikram Batra in the script, due to which the supporting characters and actors do not emerge.
Cast – Siddharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Shiv Pandit, Nikitan Dheer, Raj Arjun, Shitaf Figar etc.
Director- Vishnu Vardhan
Producer- Karan Johar
Rating- *** (Three Star)
