Shershaah has been the talk of the town since its release because of its incredible and heart-wrenching nature. The film is based on the life of Indian army captain Vikram Batra who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra – India’s highest honour for gallantry for his accomplishments during the 1999 Kargil War.
Directed by Vishnu Varadhan and co-produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, the film focuses on the life of Vikram Batra’s life journey, carefully displaying the different components of it. It portrays his growing up family life, his soulmate Dimple Cheema and his experience in the army.
About Vikram Batra aka Shershaah :
Vikram Batra was born on 9 September 1974 in a small town in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. He was the third child of Girdhari Lal Batra, a government school principal and Kamal Kanta Batra, a school teacher and joined the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, in June 1996.
Cast:
With the strikingly stunning Kiara Advani and dynamic Siddharth Malhotra, the cast did not fail to fascinate the viewers. Siddharth Malhotra did a tremendous job at portraying his role as Shershaah, grasping the viewers’ attention.
The Storyline:
One of the most notable scenes in the film is when Vikram (played by Siddharth Malhotra) fights off a bully who refuses to return a cricket ball during his teen years. Agonizing for his son due to his rampageous behaviour, his father, a schoolteacher in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, questions if Vikram will end up as a tormentor.
Vikram Batra got fascinated by military life due to the impact of the 1980s series Param Vir Chakra, remarkably an episode of Major Somnath Sharma from Palampur. He made up his mind about joining the military in the future.
He encounters the love of his life (played by Kiara Advani) in a college in Chandigarh. The story further follows with their love life, and they get married.
Now here comes the most heart-wrenching scene, the one that would break a person’s heart into a million pieces.
Right before he boards the bus from Chandigarh, he makes a promise to Dimple that he will return home and spend the next 40 years with ‘Mrs. Batra’, his beloved wife.
However, the audience knew too well that he would not come back as he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise.
Final views:
While the film stands on the audience’s expectations, Kiara Advani’s Punjabi accent gets in the way of her performance. Though the acting was way too good, it failed to raise patriotism while bringing rare scenes that brought goosebumps to the spectators.
Some moments brought chills; undoubtedly, there was a lack of adventure that hooks up the audience. In addition, Vikram’s identical twin dictated the story, which means that somehow the real emotions of his patriotism could not come out on screen.
Many warfare scenes could not reflect the large canvas of the film. However, it still tugged the heartstrings of the audience while giving a bittersweet ending.
A must-watch, but one should not get too high on expectations.
