(This piece was written two years back as a part of my college assignment)
Shershaah is a biographical war film in Hindi language based on the life of Captain Vikram Batra. It was released countrywide on 12th August 2021 on the OTT platform- Amazon Prime Video. The film was directed by the Tamil film director Vishnuvardhan and written by Sandeep Shrivastava. The film starred Siddharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani in the lead role along with other actors in supporting roles. The film gets named Shershaah based on the codename given to Captain Batra during the Kargil war.
The film narrates the personal and professional life of the Kargil martyr Captain Vikram Batra. The film is narrated by the twin brother of Captain Batra- Vishal Batra. The film opens with Captain Batra and his team in between action as the head to destroy the last Pakistani bunker in order to recapture a peak. Shershaah has a similar structure and narrative like Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, which was also released on Independence Day in 2020. However, unlike Gunjan Saxena, that beautifully explored the dynamics of a father- daughter relationship, Shershah appears to be sporadic. The film shows some childhood moments of Batra’s life which have no emotional resonance with him. Similarly, his relationship with Dimple is merely a filler. The film shows some episodes of Kargil war in a very scattered way. Unlike other war films which go high in propaganda, Shershaah is rather a ‘soft’ film. Still the film’s tone is high on patriotism.
Although the film has much ‘softer’ tone vis a vis other such war dramas, the fact remains the same that it shows only the army/ government side of the story. Even though Captain Batra was shown to have a friendly relation with the Kashmiri civilians, his colleagues, the army men, were shown to have a doubtful attitude towards the local Kashmiris. It reiterates the common popular notion of the masses that Kashmiris/ Muslims are dubious in nature. The film has a very simplistic and casual take on the army- civilian relationship which stands contrary to the reality. The film ignores the extensive violence, hostility and mistrust that exists in the ‘Paradise on Earth’. However, since it’s a film on Batra’s life, it of course would not deal with the politics and state of life in Kashmir like Roja, Haider or Hamid. Still the portrayal of Kashmir could have been less facile.
Though the relation between Batra and Dimple, as shown in the film, seems just for entertainment purpose; one scene that stands relevant to me as a viewer is the question of cross community marriage. Dimple belongs to Sikh community whereas Batra is a Hindu Punjabi. Thus, Dimple’s parents stay aversive towards her relation with Batra. It remains as a cosmetic take on the fundamental problems of a multi-religious society like India. In the film we see Batra being accepted by Dimple’s father on his promotion to the rank of the ‘Captain’; which indicates the status obsession of an aspiring middle/ upper- class scenario in modern India.
Keeping Batra as the central protagonist of the story, the film throws light upon army technicalities and hardships. The film shows the hierarchical nature of the army job. The film beautifully captures the unique bonding among all army men. We can see the army men sharing a strong bond with each other. A strong military solidarity probably indicates a submersion of individual egos.
In the film we see the army men with their commander sobbing over a slain colleague’s body and expressing their apprehension and anxieties. This stands contrary to the common image that we have for the army as pompous and snobbish. It rather takes a more humane take on the army life. It tells us that by profession they are army men but at the end of the day they all are humans. And like any other human, they do have their fears and angst. They too fear death and separation from their loved ones. They are no larger-than-life figures.
In one of the scenes we see a young Batra saying ‘meri cheez mujhse koi cheen nahi sakta’. Though it has been an innocent wording from a child but to look deeper one can realise that this line throws light on the Kashmir issue. ‘The Heaven on Earth’ is seen as a ‘cheez’ by both the countries and the militants which they want to keep in their control so that it does not get ‘snatched’ by the other party. Thereby, these innocent words from a child illuminates upon the human nature of possession and appropriation, which can be viewed as a major factor for the ongoing Kashmir conflict.
Overall, the film is a good one- time watch. Though the writing and execution of the film has been quite sporadic, the cinematography and direction of photography makes the film interesting to watch. The film serves as a good tribute to celebrate the bravery of the Kargil war martyr Captain Vikram Batra.
The Kargil War of 1999 has been an important episode of contemporary Indian politics and history, so a film based on the event of Kargil is an important historical document for the prosperity.
All pictures are sourced from Internet
Piece written by Hridi
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