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Sam Bahadur : Movie Name
Directed by: Meghna Gulzar
Starring: Vicky Kaushal, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
Running Time: 122 Minutes
Release Date: 01 December, 2023
Rating:
Production House: RSVP Movies
The film journeys into the dynamic personality of India’s first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw, also known as ‘Sam Bahadur’ to the jawans he led. 40 years in uniform, a magnificent officer, a true gentleman, and India’s greatest soldier.
Sam Bahadur: Biopic War Drama Film
Sam Bahadur (stylised as SAMबहादुर) is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language biographical war drama film based on the life of India’s first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw. It is directed by Meghna Gulzar who co wrote with Bhavani Iyer and Shantanu Srivastava. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala, under the banner of RSVP Movies, It stars Vicky Kaushal in the title role, alongside Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Neeraj Kabi, Edward Sonnenblick, and Zeeshan Ayyub.
Set against the backdrop of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw led the Indian Army from the front, ending in the creation of Bangladesh.
In 2017 Gulzar narrated the story of the biopic on Sam Manekshaw on the sets of Raazi and Kaushal decided he would play the character. She then went for years of extensive research and writing collaborating with Bhavani Iyer and Shantanu Srivastava.
In 2021, the film was announced by RSVP Movies on the 107th birth anniversary of late Sam Manekshaw. The film marks the second collaboration between Gulzar and Kaushal after Raazi (2018).
In December 2021, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra joined the cast. Neeraj Kabi joined the cast in September 2022 to portray the role of Jawaharlal Nehru marking his second collaboration with Gulzar after Talvar. Kaushal has gone through extensive training in the army under the guidance of the Indian Army’s 6 Sikh Regiment in preparing for his role and has earlier done such training in the film Uri. Kaushal in an interview with Film Companion revealed that the character would be his toughest onscreen role to date. The film will not have junior artists and instead real-life army personnel and people from the Defence Force have been cast.
The Principal photography began on 8 August 2022. The film was shot over two years in 13 locations in India covering four decades of the life of Sam Manekshaw. Filming took place in Mumbai, Pune, Jodhpur, Pataudi, Chandigarh, Ooty, Coonoor, Dehradun, Kolkata, Patiala, Srinagar, Pahalgam and Delhi. The team wrapped on 14 March 2023.
The music of the film is composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy while lyrics are written by Gulzar. Background score is composed by Ketan Sodha. The first single titled “Badhte Chalo” was released on 13 November 2023.
Sam Bahadur: Movie Trailer
Movie Review:
In times of jingoistic narratives where the political leadership loves to take credit of military manoeuvres through spin doctors, here comes a tale of true valour that encapsulates the exploits of India’s most beloved war general, Sam Manekshaw, whose contribution has not been celebrated enough in popular culture.
Known for telling complex tales like Talvar (2015) and Raazi (2019), this time director Meghna Gulzar has mounted a relatively straightforward and adulatory biopic of a military strategist who never seemed to be in two minds and had the guts to speak truth to power.
The film critiques the relationship between the politicians and the military. That there was a time when soldiers meant for combat were assigned construction jobs. That the emotional approach of Jawaharlal Nehru softened the political will in matters of war and peace with shrewd neighbours.
Though Fatima Sana Sheikh’s performance is uneven, the film efficiently captures the chemistry between the feisty but insecure Indira Gandhi and a resolute Sam (Vicky Kaushal). The scene where the former Secretary of State of the United States Henry Kissinger is shown his place by Indira and Sam and the Americans’ propensity to poke into others’ matters is called out makes great viewing. In the week, when the controversial American statesman has passed away, the film comes as a timely reminder of Kissinger’s rare failure in secret diplomacy.
The film also painfully reminds how the colonial power divided the best of gentlemen cadets based on religion. It gives goosebumps to know that there was a time when Yahya Khan (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) is impressive with and without prosthetics) rode pillion with Sam but years later they locked horns in East Pakistan. The battle scenes are sharp and believable and don’t look cosmetically cooked up. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have created a rousing blend of battle cries of different regiments that gives a sense of the vibrant culture of the Indian armed forces.
Meghna doesn’t go into the details of how Sam ensured respect and dignity for Pakistani prisoners of war which won him respect in the neighbourhood and opposition in his own country but she does provide a sense of how the Punjabi-speaking Parsi had to shrug off the tag of anti-national, giving us a sense of how the past was not as inclusive as some want us to believe.
Drawing from Sam’s wit that made its presence felt in the toughest of situations, the writing is laced with smart humour. The best bit is when Sam makes a comment on the idea of discipline by making a junior and- a senior officer salute each other.
Vicky not only assumes the personality of Sam but has imbibed his charming can-do spirit as well. There is hardly any hint of caricature in the tone and tenor. There is a Gulzar line that aptly defines the man: Vardi pe vatan si gaya (he stitched the nation on his uniform). The talented actor, it seems, has seamed the character on his soul. One moment his eyes convey the grit and resolve of the soldier and the other they reflect the spell that the flamboyant man cast with his teasing one-liners. When the screenplay flattens, Vicky does the heavy lifting to keep the mission on course.
We all know Sam was only second-in-command at home and Sanya Malhotra as his lovely, supportive wife Siloo proves equal to Vicky’s charm.
After a point, the screenplay does become a series of snapshots of his long list of accomplishments set to a rousing background score, but Sam Bahadur has enough firepower to keep us invested.
Sam Bahadur: Movie Songs
Song Title: Badhte Chalo
Lyrics: Gulzar
Music Composer(s): Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Singer(s): Shankar Mahadevan, Vishal Dadlani, Divya Kumar
