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Shershaah movie review: Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani's war drama gets diluted by unnecessary romantic interludes

Shershaah endeavours to regale us with the tale of Captain Vikram Batra from his early days as a kid who dreamed of nothing else other than joining the Indian Army to how he quickly rose through the ranks and gained the admiration of both his superiors and subordinates through acts of extreme valour to how he finally gave it his all on the ill-fated Kargil battlefront.

By Russel D'Silva
Published: August 12, 2021 9:36 AM IST

OTT Film: Shershaah
Shershaah Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Shiv Pandit, Nikitin Dheer, Raj Arjun, Sahil Vaid
Shershaah Director: Vishnuvardhan
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Also Read - Sidharth Malhotra to Ranbir Kapoor: These Bollywood husbands praised their wives as 'lucky charm' after achieving milestones post marriage

Indian cinema, not just Bollywood, don't really have a glowing history in Indian cinema, with not even all fingers needed to count the good ones. Barring Lakshya, Uri, Border, Haqeeqat, Lalkaar, Aakraman and Hindustan Ki Kasam (1973) nothing of note really comes to mind nor do Indian filmmakers. Now, to cash in on the patriotic sentiment that simmers during the Independence Day week, Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani starrer, Shershaah, has released on Amazon Prime. So, does it do justice to martyred Kargil war hero Captain Vikram Batra and do we get another good Indian war movie just two years after Uri? While the response to both those questions is a 'no', Shershaah isn't a total letdown either. Also Read - Sidharth Malhotra calls Kiara Advani lucky to be married to him, 'She has a good actor, who is stylish'

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So, are you excited about what to watch this weekend or what to watch this week and wondering whether Shershaah is worth your time? Scroll down for my full Shershaah review... Also Read - BollywoodLife Awards 2023: Where and when to watch LIVE; Kartik Aaryan, Alia Bhatt, Ayesha Singh, Urfi Javed and more; check nominations and winners

What's it about

Shershaah endeavours to regale us with the tale of Captain Vikram Batra from his early days as a kid who dreamed of nothing else other than joining the Indian Army to how he quickly rose through the ranks and gained the admiration of both his superiors and subordinates through acts of extreme valour to how he finally gave it his all on the ill-fated Kargil battlefront.

Watch the Shershaah trailer below:

What's hot

First and foremost, the best part about Shershaah is that it's devoid of any jingoism and focuses more on aptain Vikram Batra's love for the army and his fellow soldiers rather than always shouting, “Bharat Mata ki jai,” at the droop of a hat. And when the movie isn't distracted by his life outside of his army posting, Shershaah is a perfectly engaging watch. Sidharth Malhotra, while not exemplary, shows remarkable improvement to his previous films and Kiara Advani again proves to be a bankable performer regardless the gravitas or length of character she's offered. Among the supporting cast, Shiv Pandit, Sahil Vaid, Nikitin Dheer and Raj Arjun leave a mark. The songs, while not needed, are easy on the ears.

What's not

There are just too many distractions in Shershaah, be they college romances or familial bickering, and none of them add much value to the screenplay. When Director Vishnuvardhan and writer Sandeep Srivastava aren't focusing on Vikram Batra's life in a war zone, they appear pretty clueless over what how to handle his personal space. To that effect, A. Sreekar Prasad's edits also needed to be sharper, and when the army-centric portions, where Shershaah actually holds your interest, are let down by some average camerawork from Kamaljeet Negi, which become all the more prominent during the actual battle, where the VFX also appears quite patchy. The background scroe also leaves a lot to be desired. Compared to Uri released a couple of years ago, this one falls several notches below the technical radar.

BL Verdict

Sidharth Malhotra displays marked improvement, Kiara Advani again proves her versatility, jingoism is thankfully absent and when Shershaah isn't focuses on Captain Vikram Batra's college romance or family squabbles, it does make for a pretty engaging watch. That being said, there are too many distractions from the actual bravado and the important battle scenes, too, lack the fire and brimstone of a Lakshya or Uri. I'm going with 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Rating : 2.5 out of 5

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ByRussel D'Silva
Published: August 12, 2021 9:36 AM IST