Ashutosh Sinha

A V O I D A B L E You could spend time more usefully or watch a OTT but do not hazard this weak plot and hair brained story with no real content. Akshay and Tiger look good but cliched dialogues and a really really bad storyline looks like various plots stitched together.

Opportunity missed by Meghna. The taller than life persona of Sam and this beautiful page in history could have been dealt with more depth. Vicky has done good work in closely mapping all of Sam’s signature walking or speaking styles, but this is one movie where he seemed to be alien to the character till the very end. Maybe in his effort to understate the role he ended making a caricature of it. On the other hand Sanya deserves a special mention for her soft touch to Sam’s personality as his wife Silloo. Her dialogue to nudge Sam to move forward at a particular juncture struck a chord - “Manzil tumhare paas nahin ayegi, tumhe chal ke jana hoga”! There were bright sparks and some beautiful dialogues by Vicky through the pivotal points in the movie but the director failed to blend in Sam’s biopic with the natural style Vicky has. At the end while I relished the story as a primer to a turning point in history I was left with a bland taste of not getting the full impact of the actor or the biopic character. It seemed like a rushed documentary. So neither a film nor a documentary either. Maybe it’s editing or poor narration. Possibly a sutradhar (story narrator) might have helped to connect the pieces of the biopic and could have also brought out some more drama to engage with the emotions Sam went through. It’s three stars for direction and acting - and five stars for the topic. The editing was possibly too tight in places. Once a watch, but maybe one can wait for OTT. However between the current choices in the halls, this is your best Bollywood option for a decent outing. #sambahadur #vickykaushal #meghnagulzar #bollyreview #newmovie

I am stunned how google reviews, IMDB and other channels have been doctored to submit positive reviews of a story that falls apart with zero sense of realism and building a story on emotions that are plastic. This didn’t deserve to become a three hour masala movie but was at best an hour’s OTT adventure packed. Neither is there any masala nor the punch the movie trailers promise. The only reason you could think of watching the movie is if you are die hard Devgan willing to see him deliver a forced performance on a weak storyline. Bottomline: totally avoidable.