When it comes to Bollywood biopics, most filmmakers often have this tendency of hyping up the protagonist long before digging into their humanity or mindset or environment or events that shaped their destiny. And it only worsens if the subject is a freedom fighter as it leads to them playing the jingoistic tune & dialling up the melodrama. And this is where Sardar Udham sets itself apart.
Directed by Shoojit Sircar, the story is devoid of all the chest-thumping, flag-waving exhibition of nationalist pride and unravels like a noir-soaked, silently escalating period piece that's firmly grounded and is all about the man than his legend. Sircar gets the assassination scene out of the way early, for the planning & execution is secondary to the why behind Udham's vengeful action. And the third act answers exactly that.
The story isn't without its issues as the back n forth narration isn't streamlined enough, plus the dialogues are diluted with English vocabulary for few scenes that don't warrant any dilution. On the plus side, the colonial setting feels authentic, camerawork is slick and performances are strong. However, it is the film's powerful, haunting & gut-wrenching final hour that lends ample weight & credibility to its earlier events and is shot with searing intensity.
Overall, Sardar Udham is inarguably one of the better biopics to surface in Hindi cinema and is crafted with restraint & sophistication. The non-linear arrangement does require getting used to, pacing also falters at times but the emotional jolt delivered by the unflinchingly raw brutality of its Jallianwala Bagh massacre & aftermath segments linger long after the credits and give us an essential insight into the eponymous revolutionary's trauma which in effect puts everything in perspective.
Directed by Shoojit Sircar, the story is devoid of all the chest-thumping, flag-waving exhibition of nationalist pride and unravels like a noir-soaked, silently escalating period piece that's firmly grounded and is all about the man than his legend. Sircar gets the assassination scene out of the way early, for the planning & execution is secondary to the why behind Udham's vengeful action. And the third act answers exactly that.
The story isn't without its issues as the back n forth narration isn't streamlined enough, plus the dialogues are diluted with English vocabulary for few scenes that don't warrant any dilution. On the plus side, the colonial setting feels authentic, camerawork is slick and performances are strong. However, it is the film's powerful, haunting & gut-wrenching final hour that lends ample weight & credibility to its earlier events and is shot with searing intensity.
Overall, Sardar Udham is inarguably one of the better biopics to surface in Hindi cinema and is crafted with restraint & sophistication. The non-linear arrangement does require getting used to, pacing also falters at times but the emotional jolt delivered by the unflinchingly raw brutality of its Jallianwala Bagh massacre & aftermath segments linger long after the credits and give us an essential insight into the eponymous revolutionary's trauma which in effect puts everything in perspective.