Shershaah

Plot

Vishal Batra delivers a Ted Talk honoring his identical twin brother, Captain Vikram Batra, recounting the events of his life. A flashback to Vikram's childhood shows him aggressively fighting older teenagers over a cricket ball, establishing the fearless temperament that defines his character. Inspired by the television series Param Vir Chakra, the young Vikram openly declares his aspiration to join the military, a desire that intensifies as he grows older.

During his college years as an English major, Vikram balances his military ambitions with a budding romance with a fellow student, Dimple Cheema. When Vikram is selected for the Merchant Navy, Dimple feels a mix of pride and anxiety regarding his career choice. The couple intends to marry, but Dimple's traditional father strictly rejects Vikram because they belong to different Punjabi castes. Concurrently, Vikram realizes his true calling lies exclusively with the combat forces rather than commercial shipping. After completing his master's degree, he successfully clears the Combined Defence Services Examination and joins the Indian Army. Commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 13th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (13 JAK RIF), he is posted to the volatile region of Sopore. Vikram quickly earns the trust of both the local civilians and his subordinates while actively participating in counter-insurgency operations. During one dynamic raid, he defies the direct tactical orders of his commanding officer, Lieutenant Sanjeev "Jimmy" Jamwal, to neutralize a group of militants, saving Jimmy's life in the process. Though Jimmy initially reprimands his reckless approach, the two officers forge a deep mutual respect.

The Delta Company, including Vikram, captures a high-ranking insurgent henchman. In retaliation, the local militant leader, Haider, ambushes Vikram's unit by luring them into a trap with false intelligence regarding a hidden weapons cache. The ambush results in the death of Vikram's close friend, Naib Subedar Bansi Lal. Traumatized but fiercely driven by justice, Vikram tracks down Haider’s location and secures operational authorization from his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Y. K. Joshi. Vikram leads a swift raid on Haider's safehouse, eliminating the militant leader. Shortly after, Vikram returns home to Palampur on leave, entirely unaware that the covert Pakistani incursions signaling the start of the Kargil War are already underway.

In May 1999, the Pakistani Army launches a massive offensive to seize strategic heights overlooking the Kashmir valley. As national news reports the outbreak of the war, a restless Vikram cuts his vacation short. Before departing for the front lines, he confidently promises his friend Sunny that he will either return after raising the Indian flag in victory or come back wrapped in it.

Production

Karan Johar confirmed in 2018 that he would be producing a biopic on the life of Captain Vikram Batra. The Batra family wanted Sidharth Malhotra to play Batra. He was eventually selected to portray the double role of Batra and his identical twin brother Vishal. Several actresses were in discussions to play Batra's fiancée, Dimple Cheema before Kiara Advani was cast. Malhotra started military training for the film in April 2019. Before the official announcement of the film, it was speculated that the title will be "Mera Dil Maange More" but later was changed to "Shershaah".

The film was officially announced on 2 May 2019, with the title confirmed and shooting locations to be Chandigarh, Palampur, Kangra, Kargil, Ladakh and Kashmir Valley. Principal photography commenced on 7 May 2019 and the film wrapped on 12 January 2020. Patchwork shots were completed by 23 October 2020.

Soundtrack

The songs featured in the film were composed by Tanishk Bagchi, B Praak, Jasleen Royal, Javed-Mohsin and Vikram Montrose with lyrics written by Manoj Muntashir, Rashmi Virag, Anvita Dutt, Jaani and Bagchi. John Stewart Eduri composed the film score. The music album which was released by Sony Music India on 16 August 2021, was considered as the biggest soundtracks of 2021 and had crossed 1 billion streams in all music platforms, becoming the fastest Indian album to do so. The soundtrack remains the only work that does not feature the collaboration between Vishnuvardhan and Yuvan Shankar Raja, who had been his norm composer in all his previous films.

"Raataan Lambiyan" and "Ranjha" featured on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Global 200. Songs topped the national and global charts, in all music and video platforms. The song "Mann Bharrya 2.0" was recreation of B Praak's single "Mann Bharrya" released in April 2017. It was recreated by the same team of original song with singer B Praak and composer-songwriter Jaani.

Release

The film was scheduled to release theatrically on 3 July 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 20 February 2021, the new release date was announced as 2 July 2021, before being postponed again. The film premiered on 12 August 2021 on Amazon Prime Video. On 31 August 2021, Amazon stated that Shershaah had become the most watched Indian film on the platform. The film was streamed by audiences in over 4,100 Indian cities and towns, and in 210 countries and territories.

Reception

Upon release, Shershaah received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised Malhotra and Advani's performances and the action sequences but some criticised the writing of the film. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10.

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 calling Shershaah "power-packed" and wrote, "Shershaah salutes the valor, courage and bravery of Kargil war hero Captain Vikram Batra, Inspirational and emotional. A game changer for Sidharth Malhotra. Commanding act. Unmissable!. Director VishnuVardhan narrates the story of Shershaah with utmost competency. Screenwriting is absorbing for most parts. The war sequences are executed with flourish. The finale is sure to leave you moist-eyed."

Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost gave the film 2.75 stars out of 5 opining, "Captain Vikram Batra biopic is gripping as an Army procedural", noting it as Malhotra's best performance since Kapoor and Sons, and that "VishnuVardhan could not have found a more suitable mainstream star to join him in memorialising one of India's favorite war heroes." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 2.5 stars (out of 5) by saying Malhotra "has what it takes to portray Batra with efficiency." He concluded, "The cinematic firepower and flint take Shershaah much higher - and further - as a war drama."

Anupama Chopra of Film Companion wrote, "The film's clunky structure doesn't allow it to accrue tension or exert a grip, but it comes to life in the second hour once the battle begins." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 2 stars out of 5 saying that, "the Sidharth Malhotra film has neither the necessary drama inherent in a cracking war film, nor does it raise patriotic goosebumps." Writing for Hindustan Times, Rohan Nahaar praised the screenplay but criticised the direction stating that the "smartly choreographed action, a reverent tone, and Sidharth Malhotra's sincere performance can't make up for Vishnuvardhan's uneven direction."

Historical accuracy

The talk Vishal Batra gives in the beginning of the film resembles the TEDx talk he gave in 2017 (evident from the same title and similar clothes.)

The film depicts Vikram Batra and Dimple Cheema getting married, while she is unaware. In an interview with The Quint in 2016, Cheema revealed that, "while doing the parikrama of the Nishan Sahib, he was walking behind me. On completing the parikrama, he said 'Congratulations, Mrs. Batra'. I swirled around to see him holding one end of my dupatta." In Sikhism, completion of four rounds around the Nishan Sahib is considered a marriage ritual. The depiction of Batra filling Cheema's hair parting with his blood (a Hindu marriage ritual) was also confirmed by her in the same interview.

The film shows Batra telling his friend, "I'll either come back after raising the Indian flag in victory or return wrapped in it. But I'll come for sure." Although, his twin, Vishal Batra confirmed Batra saying the words to "a friend", it has been disputed as to who he actually said those words to.

The movie portrays a Pakistani troop threatening Batra over the radio. Batra himself narrated this himself in his famous interview with Barkha Dutt recalling, "Oh Shershaah, you've come. Don't try to come up, otherwise you'll have a tough time... and that was the time they gave us a challenge and my guys they... they went wild." The film also shows Pakistani troops asking the Indians to give them Madhuri Dixit. This has been previously confirmed by others who served in the unit.

In the aftermath of capture of 5140, Batra is shown to use a journalist's satellite phone to call Cheema. In reality, he had borrowed a satellite phone but had called his father instead. His incomplete message, "Daddy, I've captured", was initially misinterpreted as a message of his capture.

While climbing 4875, Batra is shown to charge at a bunker and kill three enemy troops alone in hand-to-hand combat. However, in reality, he had killed five enemy troops and sustained multiple injuries while doing so.

Unlike the film, Batra died instantly after being hit by the sniper and did not live to see his men capture the point.