Release Date: 20 May 2016
Starring: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadha and Darshan Kumar
Directed by: Omung Kumar
Produced by: Vashu Bhagnani, Bhushan Kumar, Sandeep Singh, Omung Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Deepshikha Deshmukh, Jackky Bhagnani and Rajesh Singh
Story: Utkarshini Vashishtha and Rajesh Beri
Music by: Jeet Ganguli, Amaal Mallik, Tanishk bagchi, Shail-Pritesh and Shashi Shivam
Duration: 2 hr 11 min
Genre: Biopic, Drama
Censor Rating: U/A
About Movie Sarbjit
Director Omung Kumar of 2014 sports biopic Mary Com fame has roped in former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for this biopic on Sarabjit Singh, a farmer residing at Bhikiwind, Punjab, near the Indo-Pak border. Singh, drunk heavily, accidentally crosses the border and is mistaken to be an Indian spy. He is further sentenced to capital punishment in Pakistan. Sarbjit movie is the journey of his sister, Dalbir Kaur, who leaves no stone unturned in the fight for the release of her brother from a Pakistani jail. The makers of Sarbjit definitely deserve applauds for attempting to tell a story that isn’t known to every Indian.
Plot
Sarbjit Singh (played by Randeep Hooda) is a resident of a village near Punjab and lives with his wife Sukhpreet(played by Richa Chadha), two daughters Poonam Kaur(played by Ankita Srivasthav) and Swapandeep Kaur, sister Dalbir Kaur(played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) and father. One day, Sarbjit unknowingly crosses the Indo-Pak border and gets arrested by the Pakistani army. He is then tortured, convicted as an Indian Spy and alleged as Manjit Singh (main culprit behind bomb blasts in Lahore).
It is Sarbjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur who fights with the Pakistani Government for nearly 23 years before Sarbjit is declared innocent. Awais Shiekh(played by Darshan Kumar) fights Sarbjit’s case and after the accused farmer, Sarbjit is given bail, he is attacked by jail inmates, gets heavily injured, is hospitalized and finally breathes his last.
Performances
Bollywood beauty, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (as Sarbjit’s elder sister, Dalbir Kaur) has delivered a performance of a lifetime. She has imbibed the ageing facet in a phenomenal manner. Her dialogues are powerful and bound to leave a deep impact on the audience’s mind. As the movie progress, Aishwarya(Dalbir) has showcased a power-packed performance with scenes that make her character even more believable.
Playing the lead is Randeep Hooda(Sarbjit Singh), who too, has been truly outstanding throughout the flick. Acting as a doting brother, he has been extremely affluent in displaying the ugly reality of how Indian prisoners were treated in Pakistani jails during that time period. His character is extremely appealing and the audience would connect with him instantly.
Then, there is Richa Chadha(Sarbjit’s wife, Sukhpreet) who hasn’t tried to compete with veterans, Randeep Hooda and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She has been successful in making a solid impact by being silent in most of her scenes. Ankita Srivastav(Sarbjit’s younger daughter, Poonam) has excelled in portraying her intense character in a superb way. Finally, there is Darshan Kumar (Sarbjit’s lawyer) who has done complete justice to his character of a liberal Pakistani lawyer.
Sarbjit Music
Sarbjit comes with an extremely emotional album. It opens with “Salamat” composed by Amaal Mallik. Tulsi Kumar’s verses have perfectly blended with Arijit Singh’s rendition to make it a beautiful track. Next is “Dard” which is again a sad number, sung by super singer Sonu Nigam. Adding masala to the music album of Sarbjit is “Tung Lak” which is a peppy dance number with a tint of bhangra. Sukhwinder Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shail Hada have put in their best efforts to make this track a chartbuster.
“Rabba” is excellently sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali and other tracks including “Meherban”, “Barsan Laagi”, “Allah Hu Allah”, “Nindiya” and “Mera Junoon” go well with different scenes incorporated into this flick. All in all, the soundtrack of Sarbjit fits to the theme in an impressive way.
Details of songs in the movie
1. “Salamat”
Singer(s): Arijit Singh and Tulsi Kumar
Duration: 04:30
2. “Nindiya”
Singer(s): Arijit Singh
Duration: 03:00
3. “Dard”
Singer(s): Sonu Nigam
Duration: 04:42
4. “Rabba”
Singer(s): Shafqat Amanat Khan
Duration: 03:48
5. “Allah Hu Allah”
Singer(s): Shashaa Tirupati, Altamash, Rabbani Mustafa Khan
Duration: 04:57
6. “Tung Lak”
Singer(s): Sukhwinder Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shail Hada & Kalpana Gandharv
Duration: 03:25
7. “Meherbaan”
Singer(s): Sukhwinder Singh, Shail Hada & Munnawar Masoom
Duration: 04:02
8. “Barsan Laagi”
Singer(s): Shail Hada
Duration: 04:55
9. “Mera Junoon”
Singer(s): Shail Hada
Duration: 04:06
What’s Good?
Superb performances by Aishwarya and Randeep are worth appreciation. Sarbjit has a solid plot, which has been intelligently portrayed on-screen. Accompanied by crisp direction by Omung Kumar, Sarbjit is surely going to touch your heart.
What’s Bad?
Forced melodrama and an irritating background score are the two major downsides of Sarbjit. In addition to this, Aishwarya’s screechy dialogue delivery has also not been appreciated by the audiences.
Verdict
Irrespective of having a good plot, Sarbjit hasn’t been good enough in doing complete justice to the original Sarbjit issue. However, if you are an Aishwarya or Randeep Hooda fan, then watching this flick is something you can do this weekend.
Sarbjit Rating **
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