Zee Studios and J.P. Films’ Paltan (UA) is a war film set in 1967.
After the 1962 Indo-China war, China and India were involved in clashes in 1967 at Nathu La and Cho La, alongside the border of the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim, then an Indian protectorate. It is a little-known chapter of India-China wars.
Major General Sagat Singh (Jackie Shroff) sends Lt. Col. Rai Singh (Arjun Rampal) to take charge at the Sikkim border. In his paltan are Major Bishan Singh (Sonu Sood), Major Harbhajan Singh (Harshvardhan Rane), Captain Prithvi Singh Dagar (Gurmeet Choudhary), Second Lieutenant Atar Singh (Luv Sinha) and hawaldar Parasar (Siddhanth Kapoor). How these six people and others in the paltan give the Chinese armymen at the Sikkim border a terrible fight is what the film is all about.
The story is based on real-life incidents of 1967. Firstly, the skirmishes between India and China in 1967 are hardly common knowledge and secondly, because this is such a small chapter in history, it is unlikely to interest the audience more than 50 years later. Writer-director J.P. Dutta may have felt inclined to make a film based on this drama for this reason – that it’s not in the knowledge of too many people. But it is this very reason that should have actually prompted him not to make the film – because what transpired in 1967 was not a war, they were skirmishes. J.P. Dutta’s screenplay is quite flat and predictable. The war drama is interspersed with the personal stories of the various armymen but even these personal tales don’t evoke the desired emotions. In fact, it is unfortunate that except for the climax, the screenplay fails to make an emotional impact on the audiences who, therefore, see it unfolding on the screen quite passively. If the emotional quotient is low, except in the climax when the weak-hearted would end up crying, the patriotic feelings also hardly get aroused among the viewers. A war drama without the patriotic fervour and with minimal emotions is definitely not a success recipe.
It would not be wrong to say that the skirmishes between the Indian army and the Chinese army often look childish and not very serious. Yes, the climax war, bombings and gun fights are impactful but prior to that, the face-offs and fights are not effective. J.P. Dutta’s dialogues are okay; they lack the power and punch of patriotism.
Arjun Rampal is fair in the role of Lt. Col. Rai Singh. Jackie Shroff does a decent job as Major General Sagat Singh. But why does he speak so many dialogues in accented English? Sonu Sood is natural as Major Bishan Singh. Harshvardhan Rane leaves a lovely mark in the role of Major Harbhajan Singh. Gurmeet Choudhary makes his presence very well felt as Capt. Prithvi Dagar. Luv Sinha’s acting is okay but his dialogue delivery needs improvement. His physique and fitness don’t befit the Second Lieutenant (Atar Singh) he plays. Siddhanth Kapoor, as hawaldar Parasar, gets very limited scope; he is alright. Rohit Roy also has a tiny role as Major Cheema. He hardly makes an impact. Abhilash Panwar (as hawaldar Laxmichand) is earnest. Esha Gupta hardly has a worthwhile role as Rai Singh’s wife. Sonal Chauhan is ornamental in the role of Bishan Singh’s wife. Monica Gill makes her mark as Harbhajan Singh’s girlfriend. Depika Kakkar has her moments as Capt. Dagar’s fiancée. Liao Sheng Hua Nelson (as the Chinese commissar), Liao Kuo Chi (as the Chinese officer) and Dr. Chien Ho Liao (as the Chinese officer) lend fair support. Others are average.
J.P. Dutta’s direction is not too inspired. The filmmaker doesn’t seem to be in form because he has not been able to make a drama which can move the viewers emotionally or instill the spirit of patriotism in them. His handling of the climax and picturisation of the climax song (‘Main zinda hoon’) are definitely good. Music (Anu Malik) is nice but no song is a hit. The ‘Main zinda hoon’ song is excellently rendered by Sonu Nigam. ‘Raat kitni daastanein’ is quite well-tuned. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics are inspiring. Feroz Khan’s choreography is alright. Distinction marks for the picturisation of the climax song for the emotions it evokes. Sanjoy Chowdhury’s background music is quite good. Cinematography (by Shailesh Awasthi and Nigamendra Bomzan) is eye-filling. The Leh-Ladakh locations look beautiful on the screen. Sham Kaushal’s action scenes are exciting. Dayanidhi Patturajan’s art direction is fair. Ballu Saluja’s editing is quite okay.
On the whole, Paltan lacks the excitement, emotional quotient and patriotic appeal of a war film and looks like a formula film. It will not be able to make much of a mark at the box-office.