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Yash Raj Films’ Shamshera (UA) is a fictional story of the Khamiran tribe. It is set in 1871 when the Britishers ruled India.
Daroga Shudh Singh (Sanjay Dutt) tricks the Khamiran tribesmen and hands them over to the British ruler who makes them his slaves. Shamshera (Ranbir Kapoor) is pained at this and vows to free the tribe but in doing so, he gets caught red-handed and is killed. His pregnant wife (Irawati Harshe) gives birth to Shamshera’s son, Balli. Twenty-five years later, Balli (Ranbir Kapoor) grows up to be a brave young man who has been wonderfully tutored in all skills by Peer Baba (Ronit Bose Roy), his late father’s friend. Like his father, Balli too has the burning desire to free his tribesmen from slavery. How he accomplishes his mission forms the crux of the story.
Neelesh Misra and Khila Bisht have penned a story which looks very dated and of an era gone by. To expect the youth of today to identify with the story is foolhardiness. Ekta Pathak Malhotra and Karan Malhotra’s screenplay is long-drawn, boring and one of complete convenience. Anything and everything that Balli’s heart desires becomes possible in a jiffy. Why, when Balli escapes from the place where his tribesmen and he live, he reaches his uncle so easily that it would appear as if nothing is impossible for Balli. Even Balli’s attempt to steal the Queen’s crown looks like a left-hand task for him. Actually, the entire track of the Queen’s crown is unintentionally hilarious. The way the crown has been handled, it looks like a valueless crown rather than the most valuable crown in the world. Even the climax is so boring and so long-drawn that it tests the audience’s patience. By the time the protagonist and antagonist are baying for each other’s blood in the end, the viewers have gotten so bored that they couldn’t care less about the outcome. Emotions are conspicuous by their absence in spite of it being a human drama. Comedy is missing. Romance is hardly heartwarming. Piyush Mishra’s dialogues are so long-winding that it is often a tough job to keep track of what the characters want to convey. Simpler dialogues would’ve definitely helped in reducing the boredom.
Ranbir Kapoor does a fantastic job in both the roles. It must be said to his credit that in spite of being cast in two action roles which don’t go with his image at all, he comes out a winner in both of them. He is wonderful as Balli and Shamshera. Vaani Kapoor looks sexy and dances beautifully. Other than that, she doesn’t have much to do. Sanjay Dutt is entertaining as Shudh Singh. Saurabh Shukla is alright but does not have a single scene which is worthwhile. Ronit Bose Roy lends good support but again, he too doesn’t have a single scene which stands out. Irawati Harshe is okay as Shamshera’s wife and Balli’s mother but she hardly ages in 25 years! Chitrak Bandhopadhyay leaves a mark as the baniya. Craig McGinlay, Mark Benington, Brian Nathain Siegal, Rayan Water and Rick provide adequate support. Prakhar Saxena (as Bhura), Rudra Soni (as Pitamber), Vijay Kaushik (as Gulfi), Nagesh Salvan (as Dada), Saurabh Kumar (as Chooha), Mahesh Balraj (as Upreti), Satyaprakash Pandey and others lend good support.
Karan Malhotra’s efficient craft of direction is unable to make up for the terribly weak script. Unfortunately, Karan seems to have been unduly inspired by Hollywood films because some of his scenes and get-ups of some of his characters appear to have been lifted from those films. Mithoon’s music is good. Several songs are melodious but none of them is very popular. Also, there are too many songs, and this is a minus point. Lyrics (Mithoon, Karan Malhotra and Piyush Mishra) are alright. Song picturisations are extraordinary. Brinda, Chinni Prakash and Shakti Mohan have done swell jobs of the choreography. Mithoon’s background music could’ve been more impactful. At places, the dialogues are not clear because of the unduly loud background music. Anay Goswamy’s camerawork is remarkable. Franz Spilhaus and Parvez Shaikh’s action and stunt scenes are well-executed but their impact is diluted because of the terribly weak script. Production designing (Acropolis, Sumit Basu, Snigdha Basu and Rajnish Hedao) is of a very high standard. Shivkumar V. Panicker’s editing leaves a lot to be desired.
On the whole, Shamshera belongs to an era gone by. It will, therefore, flop at the box-office.
Released on 22-7-’22 at Inox (daily 12 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay by Yash Raj Film Distributors. Publicity: excellent. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was weak everywhere. Shows at several cinemas had to be cancelled because of absence of audience.