By Akshata Narkar - May 20, 2016 09:38 PM

Rating: 3/5

One line Review: Expect pain and soreness to the core! A bit over the top sequences, that are overshadowed by superb performances of the lead actors.

Positive Points: The brave attempt of the director and the team to tell such a story. The performances of the actors are the soul of the biopic movie.

Negative Points: Although the editing is tight, there are a few stretched and dragged sequences. There is exaggeration of emotions in a few scenes, making it overly dramatic, that disrupt its realistic nature.

Plot: The film is based on a real life story of a farmer from Punjab named Sarbjit. His unfortunate tale of being mistakenly convicted as a terrorist is narrated through the movie. A happy-go-lucky farmer Sarbjit (Randeep Hooda) who lives in Bhikhiwind, Punjab, near the Indo-Pak border, is a complete family man. One fine day, Sarbjit being highly drunk, crosses the border unconsciously and gets caught by the Pakistani army. And, they convict him for being a terrorist from India.

Sarbjit is forced to identify himself and admit that he is Ranjit Singh, an accused for carrying out several bomb blasts in Pakistan. The film narrates the painful journey of Sarbjit and how he was tortured in jail while depicting the struggle of his sister Dalbir Kaur (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) and his wife, Sukhpreet (Richa Chadda). The movie describes the genuine fight of a sister for her brother.

Direction and other Technical Aspects: Omung Kumar has put his brave foot forward to tell such a story to the world. Although, there are sequences that could be subtler and have gone overboard, still overall the movie is impactful. The movie majorly focuses on Dalbir Kaur’s struggle and less space is given to Randeep Hooda’s title character. The detailing when it comes to jail sequences is apt. Minor loop holes in the script are over shadowed by brilliant performances of the leads. Richa Chadda deserves a special mention for her on point expressions.

Performances: Randeep Hooda is unbelievable as Sarbjit. The transformation he has undergone leaves one speechless. The actor has moulded himself into the character and is so astonishingly good. Everything, including his mannerisms, dialogue delivery, and body language deserves appreciation.

Richa Chadda is a gem of an actor. Despite having lesser dialogues, the lady delivers a spectacular performance that one cannot ignore. Her expressions are perfect and effortless.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan essays the key character Dalbir Kaur with full conviction. In a few sequences, she goes a little over board with her performance and dialogues. Her de-glam avatar is praiseworthy. Her hard-work and honest attempt to do justice to the role is evident.

The entire supporting cast was also pretty decent that managed to back the film well.

Music: The background score is not very appealing. Songs are passable.

Final Verdict: The film leaves you with an emotionally draining experience. The heart breaking journey of Dalbir Kaur, Sarbjit and Sukhpreet has been portrayed bravely on the big screen. The movie for me earns 3 out of 5 stars.