mrunaldesai
Excellent Movie. Great Story, and executed nicely. 2 mistakes: - Aish Rai: Poor acting. If they could have switched Richa Chadda and Aish, Richa would have done a must better acting. It was an excellent role, and good acting would have raised this role to another level. - Too Long. They could have cut it short to 1.5 hours.2 great things: - Randeep Hooda - Amazing Acting. - Execution of Story to be told.Songs were not needed, Aish acting as a leader not needed. Richa should have given more time in the movie. She is a good actress. Randeep Hooda could have spent more time on screen. Movie was more about Aish then Sarabjit.
sanyasequeira
You can say 'this is better than most Bollywood' films made, and that this could be even considered to be a part of great Indian cinema films, But terrible pacing, lack to attention of detail and horrible convincing of time span make this movie a definite miss. I can't comment of the characters itself since it is based on true events. I am not sure how Dalbir Kaur or Sabrjit were/are in real life. The acting was good, I don't think any actor over powered anyone else, each had their own strengths in the movie entirely. Pointing out that I personally enjoyed Randeep Hooda's and Aishwarya Rais acting. She may have been a bit dramatic at times for the sake of it but overall great performances. Now in terms of direction....sigh It did not hit the mark. I only hope something went wrong where they had to resort to rushing certain story lines to add in two or three unnecessary songs. Look I get it, most Indian movies need a song for a break of drama or whatever...but a damn biopic DOES NOT NEED SONG NUMBERS!!!! Please future filmmakers, this is not a film to head to the cinema to enjoy fun times. This is a serious topic and should be told in a serious manner. There's nothing wrong with having no songs. In fact your credibility as a artist is stronger in such dramatic films without them. Details....ZEE NEWS logo Oh my god. Why was the 2016 Zee logo present in news broadcasts of 1990's and early 2000's. There was a different logo for back then. How did they miss that! Such a terrible mistake. Also Shoes of 2014 models of Nike were present in the crowd years before the release. Hmm wonder why? Oh right probably no one looked twice. Then comes the age of the characters...Sabrjit was convincing his weight loss and beard his teeth cheekbones all added up to a great old aged confined look. Could they not hire a proper make up artist for the ladies, you know to actually make them look old, make it look like their body had changed. I mean 20 years later and the wife still has a banging bod no wrinkles, the sister is still got wrinkle-free hands and neck. Her hair has remained beautifully full and thick with few strands of grey hair. Look at Paa where Amitabh Bachan had some good makeup done on him. The tools are present but no one wants to actually use them it seems. Now I am not saying that they can't have great bodies or thick hair even after they age, but the wrinkles thats something that makes the movie the time so so authentic. Its a beautiful visual to have. The Pacing The pacing was on and off. Towards the middle of the film felt the strongest (again no songs) I was engrossed in the film entirely worried and almost at the edge of my seat wondering what happened why isn't the government helping, I felt bad for the sister throughout. At times the film was super fast paced and then suddenly you were taken out of it with bizarre scene or couple of shots. With some song at the back. The cinematography of Kiran Deohans was incredible. The shots were absolutely breathtaking and so beautifully composed. The color palette and the lighting to create the mood was spot on!!! At the end of the day this is a tremendous true story told in a simple decent manner. What matters the most is this story being told, so please don't be offended by my thoughts or comments. 2016 a year where everyone gets butt hurt and critical (myself as well lol)) but in all honesty If little efforts were made to change the look of the wife and sister and small details like Zee TV for example were taken care of I am sure this would have probably ended up as one of the great of 2016 and the last 10 years, but unfortunately for me it didn't. Indian filmmakers have the tools and they have such incredible talent. This isn't mindless cinema kinda film, this is a serious drama film. There are such amazing drama films of true stories or events done so beautifully in India, hundreds of them. But where Sarbjit lacked in delivering the right focus of authenticity, it gained in highlighting a sad truth of the careless government and the conflicts of hundreds of families dealing with the border crisis of India and Pakistan. Only hope for more movies to be made on such topics and such issues to educate people and not separate or spread anymore propaganda hate.
thepyratror
The least you can expect from a biography made by a former Production Designer is a sense of authenticity. The film has a complete lack of authenticity, be it production design or a sense of the age. Add that to the film having no sense of progression of time. The time has been marked by people stating it has been 10 years or 3 years or some other thing.To start with, the film takes a non-linear approach, so that in the beginning when we see Aishwarya Rai and Richa Chaddha crying, we feel no sense of sympathy for them because we have not seen their relationship with Randeep Hooda. After that we go into Aishwarya Rai's traumatic past to create a connection with her, in a manner which is very melodramatic and over the top. Randeep Hooda's capture is very unconvincing, and you never feel the time as it would have been felt by a person living in solitary confinement for years. The madness in his performance is also very inconsistent. His performance is good but hampered by the inconsistency. Aishwarya Rai's performance is over the top and does not evoke anything, it is the sort of performance we have come to expect from her. Richa Chaddha has not been utilized properly as she has to convey all her emotions through staring. Also hampering the narrative are the songs, none of them good and always trying to evoke something different from what is actually happening in the film. One of the worst biopics made in India.
binducherungath
The year 2016 seems to be a year of biopic films and here is another one Sarabjit. It was indeed a much-anticipated film depicting one of the most powerful story of Sarabjit Singh. I was keen to understand how the director Omung Kumar has treated this story. Sarabjit Singh, an Indian farmer, who crossed the border by mistake, could not return to his motherland when he was alive and also had untimely death at the age of 49 after he was beaten by his fellow jail inmates. The very thought of a person in flesh and blood going through these turbulent times makes this a very special experiential film. Sarabjit is going to leave you teary eyed. Isn't it high time to stop this cross-border hatred? Lot of peace talks have happened, but nothing concrete has happened. The credits in the end show that many people are still jailed in both the countries. Let Omung's Sarabjit become a source for many more such stories to be unfolded and let all innocent prisoners be able to go back to their respective motherland. The film begins with a shot of Bhikhiwind (located along the Indo- Pakistani border in Punjab) in 1990. Dalbir (Aishwarya) is frantically searching for her brother Sarabjit (Randeep Hooda) in the fields, in and around. She tries to lodge complaint in regard to his missing. Then the frames move to past - 8 years back, where Dalbir is welcomed home along with her husband Baldev (Ankur Bhatia). And when Dalbir looks for Sarabjit, he is shown to be dancing with pigeons in his arm. Beautiful bond of brother-sister is shown through this song and also the entry of Sukhpreet (Richa Chadha) as love interest of Sarabjit happens. Sarabjit eventually marries Sukhpreet and is blessed with two daughters. Frames move back to Dalbir, Sukhpreet and Daarji's (Ram Murti Sharma) search efforts for the missing Sarabjit.Post nine months, Dalbir gets a letter from Pakistan, where Sarabjit expresses, how he crossed border in a state of drunken stupor unknowingly that ill-fateful night, when he was in the fields. He is being tortured in jail and forced to accept his identity as Ranjit Kumar (name changed in the film, he was Manjit Singh, the real terrorist in question), a suspect involved in the bomb blasts which resulted in killing many innocent people in Lahore and Faisalbad. Ultimately to escape from the torture, Sarabjit accepts his identity to be Ranjit. He is forced to accept the crimes, which he had never committed, and that is when the trials against him start and he is being sentenced to death-sentence. Rest of the film is about how Dalbir fights with the odds for more than two decades, does every bit possible to bring her brother back to India. Though the death- sentence of Sarabjit was postponed by Pakistan government for several years, but Indo-Pak conflict, blasts in either of the countries, nuclear missions etc. never allowed Sarabjit to come back home. The story of Sarabjit is known to us that he does get to come back to India only after his death.In spite of this film discussing a sad tragic story, it had its own moments of joy, bonding, sharing, be it brother-sister bond of Dalbir-Sarabjit, bonding with sister-in-law Dalbir-Sukhpreet, the relationship amongst the family – Dalbir-Sukhpreet-Daarji-kids etc. Even a small ray of hope of getting Sarabjit back to India is a matter of celebration for the family. The only part, which I felt missing in the film was that, the question in regard to Sarabjit being a spy since unconfirmed reports say so. But then, it was difficult to put across this part of Sarabjit's story due to many limitations. But while watching the film, I was also wondering, even if Sarabjit was a spy and serving our country, how unfair it was that he could not live his life at all. The whole film is conveyed from the perspective of Dalbir, Sarabjit's sister. Aishwarya has indeed given a great performance. She has portrayed the courage, grit, determination, frustration of Dalbir so beautifully. Yes, her looks don't support the character of a Punjabi woman, but, performance wise, she has done great work. Richa Chadha as Sukhpreet has less dialogues in the film, but what a remarkable performance by her. Her expressions as a wife who is dying to be with her husband, not losing hope even amidst despair are really great. Ram Murti Sharma as Daarji as a strong pillar of support to Dalbir, Sukhpreet and the whole family is also very good. Darshan as advocate Awais Sheikh has given very much noticeable performance. The show-stopper of the film is of course Randeep Hooda. What a performance! He has worked on his body, mind, and soul for this film. He has captured every emotion of Sarabjit and brought it alive on screen. High point of the film is the feel that people on either side of the border have suffered due to Indo-Pak conflict, still, there are people on either side who stand for one another. Sarabjit could communicate through letters with his family only because of generosity of a Pakistani brother. Advocate Awais Sheikh's risking his life by fighting for justice for Sarabjit is also incredible. Dalbir's asking Awais Sheikh to back out due to threats for his life was full of pathos. Music is soulful. Songs 'Salamat' 'Dard' and 'Rabba' are very nice. Sarabjit, a biopic, a tragic yet powerful story, told in the most convincing manner, is packed with great performances by Randeep, Aishwarya, Richa and soulful music. This is not a film which is meant for entertainment but it is a film which makes one experience the pain, ethos, pathos of many Sarabjit (s) and his families on either sides of the border. Let this Indo-Pak conflict get over for ever. Insha Allah !
