Reviews & Ratings for
शेरशाह (2021)

Despite my cautious optimism for this film, I somehow waited to watch Bhuj the Pride of India first. Big mistake. That movie’s migraine could only be solved by Shershaah. This movie is everything Bhuj isn’t. It is serious, the action is done extremely well and it comes across as one of the better-done war films from India. Same year, same month of release. Yet such a dichotomy between Bhuj and Shershaah.
From the trailers itself, it was clear which would turn out to be the better film. But since Shershaah was a Karan Johar production, my optimism was tempered. But this time, Dharma productions got a south Indian director and he does full justice to the story of Captain Vikram Batra.
Compared to the recent Uri the surgical strike, Shershaah sticks to the facts rather vehemently. There is no magic drone or super heroics done to cheapen the impact of this deadly conflict. Right from the beginning, the action hits hard and shows the uncertainty of a soldier’s life.
Acting :
I am not a huge detractor nor a fan of actor Siddharth Malhotra, I have enjoyed a few films of his, such as Ek Villain but his new films have been a total miss. But this film has the best acting he has done so far in his career. He manages to capture the visual aspect of the late PVC Captain Vikram and does so with enough grace so it doesn’t seem cheesy and filmy even when the character is acting all filmy. That is some accomplishment.
Rest of the cast are very competent in their roles and are extremely believable. Going by the end credits real pictures of the real people, the casting department has done an excellent as some of the actors resemble their real-life counter parts quite a bit. That’s always a plus in such films which are based on real events. Again, comparing the Bhuj where the cast looks nothing like the real people, it just seems more disrespectful and lowers the impact of the film.

Direction:
The film wonderfully directed. The scenes remain period accurate, the props, the behavior all remind us of the 90s. The action is extremely well done and totally realistic and none of the scenes look like visual effects enhanced except one or two snow approach scenes. But that fine, it doesn’t take us out of the film. The romantic part of the film is done well and manages to accomplish its goal of showing us how the late PVC Vikram Batra was, when he wasn’t fighting in the army.
The war scenes are tastefully done without going overboard. There is no fake nationalism at display, the dialogs, the mannerisms of the Indian Army officers and soldiers all seem extremely accurate (at least to a lay person like me).
I cannot get over how much impact just hiring a competent director has on this sort of films. Uri was Ok at best with its magical flying eagle drone and none of the soldiers behaving in a proper manner (shouting victory cries in hostile enemy territory anyone?). Shershaah is a fine example of how to direct well and then overall make a superior film due to all the attention to detail.

Overall :
This film made me tear up by the end. I couldn’t help it. One has to be entirely devoid of all emotions to not get teary eyed towards the end. This means the film worked. It managed to convey its story and give us some idea of who this person was on whom a film is now being made.
Rating : 8/10. Easily one of the best War movies made in India. A film which I would be proud to recommend. It’s a must watch without any delay.