The amount of money pumped into this is evident from the details with which the England of 1933-1940 is recreated. But I am hoping that the tiny tweak was all intentional. Did Amol Parashar’s Bhagat Singh sound more like a hopeful GenZ something from JNU rather than a DAV-educated boy from Lahore? Yes. This is his first period film in almost 15 years but there is not a single edit note I can add at the bottom of any scene for even a mild correction. With production quality at par with Hollywood wartime movies that often become Oscar darlings, Shoojit leaves no stone unturned to keep you arrested in the world he has created. Its effect, however, is not something most viewers would agree on. Shoojit is relentless, forcing you to sit through almost 60 minutes of excruciating visuals, as if punishing you for not reminding yourself about the incident often enough. Rarely has there been a Hindi film so unafraid to be bold and unwilling to gently depict the truth of the violence and sheer horror that still simmers in those it once affected. And trust me, nothing can prepare you for that final hour. While disgust for O’Dwyer keeps piling on, Udham’s act of true heroism is revealed only in the last one hour of the film. Whether it is him delivering speeches about the ‘burden of the white man’ to save India from a return to savagery or defending the ‘necessity’ of murdering thousands while sipping on scotch in his mansion, there are several occasions for you to feel some sparks in your chest of the rage that burned in Udham for years. The villainy of Michael O’Dwyer (played by Shaun Scott), the man responsible for it all, is nailed in your head through multiple scenes. Shoojit, however, makes sure not to take the simple route. It is trauma that leaps through generations, so clearly, enough for him to dedicate his life and death to slaying that villain who caused it. Udham (played by Vicky Kaushal) was a young boy when he witnessed one of the most brutal massacres in world history. We have read and watched iterations of it all our lives but rarely is it told with such intensity and nuance. At the core of it, the film is simply the story of a hero’s journey for revenge against a villain who destroyed all that he once loved.
Sardar Udham checks all the boxes, especially the biggest ones-intent and execution.
A simple murder won’t do, neither would a less than perfect retelling of it.
#PUDHUPETTAI MOVIE REVIEW THE HINDU FREE#
Fortunately for us, who are breathing in a free nation or watching this masterpiece of a film, neither was willing to live a compromise. Sardar Udham Singh also took 20 years to realise his dream-avenging the bloodbath in his home, the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. However, a shortage of funds or support would not let him realise this dream for almost two decades. This was the story he wanted to tell when he arrived in Mumbai from Delhi. Shoojit burned almost 20 years to make this film, clearly the most passionate of his passion projects. There are undeniable parallels in the stories of director Shoojit Sircar and the subject of his latest film, Sardar Udham.
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