A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
By Murtaza Ali Khan
Featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
By Murtaza Ali Khan
Featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
The Battle of Saragarhi is often described as one of the
greatest last stands in the history of mankind. It involved 21 Jat Sikh
soldiers (belong to the 36th Sikhs of the British Indian Army) and
10000 to 12,000 Afghan invaders. The Sikhs, led by Havildar Ishar Singh, chose
to fight to the death, creating history in the process. Writer – Director Anurag
Singh’s Kesari presents a dramatized account of the epic battle that took place
in 1897 at Saragarhi in the North-West Frontier Province which is now a part of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. In Kesari, the role of Havildar Ishar
Singh is played by Akshay Kumar. Produced under the banners of Dharma
Productions, Cape of Good Films, Azure Entertainment and Zee Studios, Kesari
costars Parineeti Chopra, Rakesh Chaturvedi, Ashwath Bhatt, and Vikram Kochhar
in supporting roles.
Kesari is loaded with symbolism and reminds us of the principles
of Sikhism and humanity. For a mainstream film of epic scope it doesn’t back
down from offering some good food for thought. And the credit should go to
Singh and his co-writer Girish Kohli who do a wonderful job of adapting the
important historical event that hitherto has never got the attention it
deserves. While these Sikhs are fighting on the side of the British they are
not really fighting for the British, for they are fighting to guard their freedom
and pride and more importantly for the cause of Sikhism and humanity at large. That’s
what makes this battle so much more important than just a valiant last stand.
And Kesari does succeed in doing justice to the battle by capturing its right
spirit. The Sikhs know that they are outnumbered and that they stand no chance
of winning and yet they fight till their last breath to protect what they believe
in.
Rakesh Chaturvedi in Kesari |
The film scores well on the technical front as well. The cinematography
is of course its strongest point and color grading is just perfect for a period
films. If anything, the CGI could have been better at some places. But that’s
only a minor glitch in a film of this humongous scale. Coming to the acting
performances, Akshay Kumar is superb in the pivotal role. This is easily his
best performance since Sangharsh (1999). Equally brilliant is Rakesh Chaturvedi
during his spine chilling portrayal of the story's prime antagonist. Parineeti
Chopra barely gets any screen time but that’s all but expected from a war film
like Kesari. Another actor who deserves a special mention is Ashwath Bhatt whom
you would remember as Alia Bhatt’s character’s brother-in-law from Raazi. While the war scenes are not bad at all, the film's true strength lies in its emotional scenes which really pack a punch.
But, despite some flaws, Kesari is a winner all the way. It has all
the making of crowd pulling blockbuster. Director Anurag Singh has shown great
promise and he seems capable of competing with the likes of Rajamouli and
Bhansali one day when it comes to dealing with period films of epic scope and
scale. The film also succeeds touching upon some important issues without
trying to be preachy. Among other things, it reminds us that Urdu is not just
the language of the Muslims as it is often considered these days. Also the film
doesn’t back down from putting humanity ahead of religion. There is a scene
when the Sikhs refuse to build a mosque for the Muslims. It is here that Havildar
Ishar Singh reminds them that the foundation stone of Harmandir Sahib (aka the Golden
Temple) was laid by Sai Mian Mir, a Muslim Pir of Lahore, who was personally
invited by Guru Arjan Dev to do the honors. On another occasion Ishar Singh commands
one of his subordinates to provide water to the wounded soldiers on both the
sides. It’s these small things that make Kesari a special film.
A Still from Kesari |
Rating: 7.5/10
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