Shamshera review: Ranbir Kapoor steals the show and gallops with pride, but...

3/5

Shamshera takes place in the mythical city of Kaza, where a warrior tribe is imprisoned, enslaved, and tortured by the brutal authoritarian commander, Shudh Singh. This is the narrative of a man who became a slave, a slave who rose through the ranks to become a leader, and ultimately a legend for his tribe. He battles tirelessly for his tribe's freedom and dignity.

There's a sequence in the second half of Shamshera where Ranbir Kapoor as Balli enters a vintage train amid the desert carrying the crown of the Queen and steals it to prove a point. The point to be taken is that every dacoit has a story and every move by him marks each chapter of his life. His life starts from being in the womb of his mother while his father fights the atrocities against the British as well as the high caste people of society.

The Robin Hood mode of Ranbir as Shamshera pumps up the screen the moment the opening credits come rolling in. The dark and thunderous background, which is how most of the Harry Potter titles are shown, has been taken up a notch and will leave you a little more excited for the film. Even that passes well with the grand and big-bang entry of an unkempt, blue-eyed Shamshera, who effortlessly loots gold from the high-class people but keeps the broody look throughout.

To match up with him is a middle-aged Sanjay Dutt as Shuddh Singh, who shows that he is a "government servant" of the British Empire, but more than that, he is a casteist man who calls the Khamera clan of the tribe "keeda" and needs to be washed away from the world as soon as possible.

With his look as a tough yet ferocious cop, Dutt brings back the menacing man he was as Kaancha Cheena in Agneepath (which was also directed by Karan Malhotra), but not up to those standards. His sadism even makes the British empathise with the tribe at one point.

Until we see Ranbir as Balli, the whole vibe of the film is dark, which gives away the fact that there would be a ray of hope even if Shamshera wasn't around. The concentration camp created for the Khamera tribe shows the brutality they face at the hands of fellow Indians under the gory leadership of Shuddh Singh.

After Shamshera is executed, which I won't give away how, we see a not-so-serious Bali, 25 years later, who dreams of becoming an officer. However, he is a smooth criminal who steals from anyone and everyone effortlessly. Well, there has to be some legacy of a dacoit which has to live on. Meanwhile, he also imparts education to the kids about becoming thieves just like him.

It's commendable that there's an immediate shift and a beautiful transition made by Ranbir, who goes from the too intense Shamshera to a fun-loving and far more accepting of his life, Balli. That is enough to get sold on as the actor's acting mettle is back on the big screen after four long years.

Talking about the transition, we did witness that in Sanju as well, but that was more of a physical transformation as he played the same person throughout. But here, the shape-shifting will leave you impressed, as the actor dons a double role for the very first time.

The film's major highlight is the man himself, who carries it proudly on his shoulders and excels at it amazingly. RK goes above and beyond the screenplay, which has been a little underwhelming because of the stretchy sequences.

Especially in the first half, Shamshera seems to be a drag and there are so many instances which will make you feel the interval sequence. But the screen screams, "Wait, there's more; be seated!" The blackouts in between the sequences indicate one chapter is over, yet it gives a very anticlimactic approach and a very predictable plot.

The plot twist never comes as it's well-established that the film is a revenge drama. But it talks more about the casteism that has been rooted in the country since centuries ago, and the divide has been shown prominently.

The second half of the film creates an unnecessary drag and doesn't live up to the hype created in the first half. Let's not forget that the first half also had a lot of loopholes.

There are also so many bloopers which are non-negligible. The film shows Vaani Kapoor carrying a baby, and it doesn't seem at all. It will catch your eyes immediately as it's been shown multiple times.

The story is by Karan Malhotra and Ekta Pathak Malhotra, while Shamshera is penned by Neelesh Misra and Khila Bisht. The amalgamation of both the ideas gets the plot lost in translation as it fails to bring anything new. It stays true to the genre and will remind you of Sholay, about how Jay and Veeru decided to take on Gabbar Singh, who was also a dacoit. The bottom line is that it reminded me of Karan Arjun too, barring the reincarnation part, and, of course, Baahubali.

However, the lack of originality and repeating the flashback sequences makes it feel like it's been there long enough. Oh yes, the same old trend of narrating a story and showing flashback sequences, which was present in the film just a few minutes back.

If Balli was learning about Shamshera, that could have been just the way we saw Shamshera. Instead, we learn about Shamshera, before Balli, but we have to witness his story once again. But it still doesn't bring up the emotional quotient, which it intends to. 

As mentioned earlier, Shamshera is an out-and-out Ranbir Kapoor show, and he entertains throughout the film. The actor lets his eyes do the talking as both the characters and steals the show in every frame he is in.

Sanjay Dutt matched up with him terrifically. The actor's madness as an antagonist with no backstory is stupendous to watch. So is a hazardous laugh with no remorse. He leaves no stone unturned in showing how much he looks down upon the tribal people. In one sequence, knowing that Vaani Kapoor is pregnant, he even shows his angst about why they don't just get extinct altogether. 

Vaani Kapoor is getting more screen time, and not just as eye candy. She starts out just being a dancer who falls in love with Balli. However, she also joins his troupe and helps him in seeking revenge. Plus, she does share a great chemistry with Ranbir without any inhibitions.

Ronit Roy has a pivotal role, but he doesn't create an impact as one would have seen him in his earlier outings. Much to the surprise, it's Iravati Harshe who is seen as Ranbir's wife as well as mother. Well, kudos to that, because as per her Wikipedia page, she is of the same age as RK and they don't look like misfits to each other in either way.

Shamshera stands tall with its incredible background music given by Mithoon. The musician has also composed songs, and there are too many to handle. Except for Ji Huzoor, Kaale Naina, and Fitoor, none of the other songs will stay with you.

But full marks on the BGM, although one tune did remind me of that of the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Raees.

Living up to the expectations is also the outstanding cinematography by Anay Goswamy, showing everything larger-than-life with either tight frames or very long shots.

Shamshera is not that bad a film given the track record of Hindi movies we have seen in recent times. However, it might still be cliched for many who have been enjoying the flavours that KGF: Chapter 2, RRR, and Pushpa: The Rise Part 1 offered in the past few months.

My extra star for Shamshera is only for Ranbir Kapoor, who once again proved why he is one of the best actors we have in the country. He even brings the utmost conviction while tears roll down his eyes as Balli and also when he has to smirk as Shamshera. If you are planning to watch, you can be patient enough to sit for two hours and 38 minutes for the actor.