Paan Singh Tomar - a review

A movie which sort of crept in unheralded but delivered a blow to the solar plexus. Not that the story of the common man wronged who had no recourse but to take the law in his own hands is new, no that is a story beaten to death by all writers of all genre, esp the duo Salim-Javed. What hits you is the raw energy of the character playing the protagonist, Irrfan Khan, his effortless portrayal of the unassuming villager turned athlete, who represents India, to the angry dacoit in the Chambal valley, his blase expressions while delivering the dialogues with his trademark factual, no-nonsense manner is what hits you in the gut. His saying "Bihad mein toh baaghi hotey hain, dacait toh parliament mein hotey hain" in a matter-of-fact manner at once grabs your attention and yet the creeping feeling of sadness never leaves you. Sadness for the talented athlete - an internationally reputed steeple chase star, who ventures into the army and athletics more for food and less for achievement but who gradually understands his own ability and takes pride in it who is battered by the apathy of the police when he ventures to file a complaint against his land grabbing relative, a sadness at the totally preventable destruction of the non-violent values of a man who only wanted to live a simple life with his family, happy with his achievements and his accomplishments in his small world, sadness that this movie based in the 70s is as much a possiblity today after half a century, that the system is if anything worse for wear and less approachable for the common man than then. I remeber reading the exploits, encounters and surrenders of various dacoits of the badlands of Central India in the erstwhile Illustrated Weekly of India in the 80s, more known for the infamous Chambal Valley than for any thing else. This movie revisits that time.

The cast and crew of this  Robin Hood meets Gabbar Singh inspired amazingly gripping film showcasing the true story of Paan Singh Tomar, spearheaded by the immensely talented Irrfan Khan and a slew of other talented yet underrated and unknown stars makes an impact which once again underlines the fact that you do not need a galaxy of overpaid stars to make a movie a success, all you need is a good taut story line which will keep you hooked for the entire duration of 2 hrs 20min. In this movie, story really is king. A must watch for the discerning cinema goer. It was a welcome change to catch this movie when sonny had his exam after over 45 days of being cooped up at home, and we decided to take a break. It was well worth it!