10 years of Paan Singh Tomar: What makes Irrfan Khan's film a watch-worthy biographical crime-drama

Paan Singh Tomar is one of those films that proves how ignorant our country's system is. The biographical film talks about an army officer, who becomes an ace athlete and wins medals for India, as the lack of sincere police officers compels him to turn into a rebel.

The story focuses on a small land-owning conflict that turns out to be an act of big revenge and forces a man who served the country to become the most wanted criminal of his time. 

The movie begins with a reporter meeting with Tomar for an exclusive interview for a piece of article in his newspaper. The former athlete, who has been known as a ruthless criminal, surprises the journalist with his humbleness and accepts his request to open up about everything that made him what he is today.

As brilliant as this actor was, I, as an audience, however, felt Irrfan's emotions out of place a few times. Although, the intensity in his eyes in most of the scenes and the apt expressions cover that tad of issues. 

Ten years ago, at the time of its release, it was called slow and out of place at some points in the film. However, I, as a fan of Tigmanshu Dhulia's direction find it important to connect to the story and make it relatable. Meanwhile, the fact that it's based on the life of a real person didn't make me lose interest at all. 

One of the things that I noticed and appreciated in the film is the symbolism. In one of the scenes, Tomar gets a few broken pieces of bangles from his mother, who dies during an attack by his rivals. The movie doesn't explain what's going to happen next, but Irrfan's actions and expressions say it all. 

Another great thing about Dhulia's direction is that he hasn't glamourised the film or any event. He has kept it raw, which makes Irrfan's character among many other things, quite convincing. 

The film is certainly not a "happy" watch but it definitely holds the top position in the list of the must-watch films of India.