Shershaah is an attempt at narrating the tale of a young soldier, braveheart Captain Vikram Batra, who was martyred in the 1999 Kargil War. Twenty-five-year-old Batra’s sacrifice is definitely an inspirational story worth telling.
The story sets the tone when a young lad, Vikram, in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, fights off a bully and with steely determination says, “Jo cheez meri hai woh koi nahi cheen sakta.” And this determination comes to the fore again when Vikram falls in love with his classmate, Dimple [Kiara Advani], and her Sikh father opposes the match. Vikram holds on to Dimple’s dupatta while taking pheras in a Gurudwara and claims he’s married to her. Taken from Captain Vikram Batra’s life, these incidents give a peek into the psyche of this young boy, whose dream is to be a part of the Indian Army. Even though his dream gets waylaid for a few days as he’s tempted to get into Merchant Navy and make money to settle into blissful matrimony with Dimple, he gets back on track soon enough.
Sidharth Malhotra convincingly plays the meaty role of Captain Vikram Batra. This Vishnuvardhan-directorial attempts hard to replicate the passion and bravery that Vikram Batra embodies and is successful up to a certain point. But, this could have been much more than what he and the scriptwriter [Sandeep Shrivastav] manage to deliver. A linear story and a rather predictable narration is not what the martyr or his admirers deserve.
While the film lightly touches upon Vikram’s steely resolve and his undying enthusiasm and empathy towards his fellowmen, it doesn’t really tell you what made him the way he was, and how his surrounding influenced him.
The most positive thing about the film is its sincerity — in narration and in Sidharth’s performance. This could easily be the actor’s best performance till date, as he delves deep into the character. Kiara Advani provides solid support as his girlfriend. Vishnuvardhan succeeds in playing out a tender love story between Vikram and Dimple.
Watch this one as it is one of the most inspiring stories that you will come across.
Title: Shershaah
Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Shiv Pandit, Pawan Chopra and Nikitin Dheer
Director: Vishnuvardhan
Platform: Amazom Prime Video
Rating: 3
(Shubha Shetty is Director — Quest Films/Quest Digital)
