Sardar Udham is a 2 hour 42 minutes (162 minutes) film available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Just as the trailer promised, the director Sujit Sircar and writers Shubhendu Bhattacharya and Ritesh Shah in collaboration with Avik Mukhopadhyay as the cinematographer have produced a masterpiece. From an aesthetic point of view, this Indian film has managed to impress in its use of VFX, costuming, and “feel” and is at par with major Hollywood productions.
Vicky Kaushal shines as the titular character in a career-defining role. His portrayal of the character over two decades is simply magnificent.
What actually was a refreshing change from the traditional Indian cinematic presentations is the use of actually decent foreign actors. The portrayals of the British characters, as actual three-dimensional characters, is a welcome change from the flat portrayals we have had in most Indian productions.
The film is a harrowing tale of revolution and retribution. The film is, in this reviewer’s opinion, the best film to have come out of the country this year and is definitely a must-see. The final 1 hour of the film, is where the emotional chord of the film lies and the depiction of the horrors that motivate the protagonist (the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre) shines a new light on the character we had watched for the past one and a half hours. Even if just for the last 1 hour, the film is a must-see.
What further improves the viewing experience is the nonlinear story-telling. It presents an interesting contrast between the relationships that Udhan makes before and after the massacre. Without going into spoilers, it is a great movie and just go and watch it.
