PLOT: Based on the life of Captain Vikram Batra who was an officer of the Indian Army, posthumously awarded with the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest and most prestigious award for valour, for his actions during the 1999 Kargil War in Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Shershaah is a biographical war film directed by Vishnuvardhan and co-produced by Karan Johar. Announced in May 2019, principal photography begun in the same month and finished in January 2020. Initially scheduled to be released on 3rd July 2020, the film was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film marks Vishnuvardhan’s directorial debut in Bollywood. The film premiered on 12th August 2021 on Amazon Prime Video.
Star Cast:
Sidharth Malhotra as Captain Vikram Batra & Vishal Batra
Kiara Advani as Dimple Cheema
Shiv Panditt as Captain Sanjeev Jamwal
Nikitin Dheer as Major Ajay Singh Jasrotia aka Jassi
Himmanshoo A. Malhotra as Major Rajiv Kapoor
Anil Charanjeett as Naib Subedar Bansi Lal Sharma
Shataf Figar as Col. Yogesh Kumar Joshi
Sahil Vaid as Sunny
Abhiroy Singh as Major Subrata Mukherjee
Raj Arjun as Subedar Raghunath
Ankita Goraya as Nutan Batra
Rakesh Dubey as Major Vijay Bhaskar
Pranay Singh Pachauri
Rahaao as Pakistani Officer At Pt.5140
Pawan Chopra as G.L. Batra, Vikram and Vishal’s father
Mir Sarwar as Hyder
Vijay Meenu as Kamal Kanta Batra
Bijay Anand as Dimple’s Father
Zahoor Zaidi as Gafoor
Afnan Ashia as Arslaan
David Browne as Attaullah
Krishnay Batra as Junior Vikram Batra
Kavay Tuteja as Junior Vishal Batra
MOVIE REVIEW: Shershaah is a great tribute to our brave Indian soldier PVC Vikram Batra, who laid down his life during the 1999 Indo-Pakistan war. The title comes from Batra’s codename in Kargil. Vishnuvardhan’s direction is top-notch and he makes an impressive debut in the Hindi film. He handles the film very well when it comes to the war scenes as well as in the emotional scenes it does not look overdramatic.
The inspirational story is well-researched and the writer did not just keep their focus on Vikram Batra’s achievements as an army officer but they also explored his romantic and emotional side. Sandeep Shrivastava’s screenplay is fast-paced and gripping which keeps viewers hooked till the climax.
The movie starts on a promising note with a war scene that will set high expectations for the audience. Sandeep Shrivastava’s dialogues are good and go well with the scenes. And some dialogues are clap-worthy too: “I would come back either with the Indian flag or draped in it”. “We live by chance, we love by choice, we kill by profession”. “There is no other status greater than the status of a soldier, there is no greater glory than the glory of a uniform, there is no religion greater than our country”.
Sidharth Malhotra delivers the best performance of his career and his performance evolves through the film. He shines in the war scenes and completely done justice to the titular role. This film gave him a lot of scopes to showcase his acting chops. Kiara Advani gets an underwritten role and she doesn’t have much scope to perform. The parallel love track between Sidharth and Kiara has some light moments. Shiv Panditt as Captain Sanjeev Jamwal is reliable. Shataf Figar, Anil Charanjeett and Raj Arjun were good in their supporting roles.
Kamaljeet Negi’s cinematography is eye-catching and he beautifully captures the locales of Kashmir. The war scenes need a special mention here and the production design was impressive too. All the action sequences are very well choreographed by Stefan Richter and Sunil Rodrigues. Especially, the terrific scene where Vikram infiltrates into Haider’s hideout and kills him. The battle scenes where the Indian army captures the two critical points Pt 5140 and then Pt 4875.
The music is good and the songs are well-placed in the film. John Stewart Eduri’s background score is impactful. Do not miss the end credits, the makers beautifully pays an ode and list out the names of the soldiers in Vikram Batra’s regiment with the photographs and the accolades won by them.
Sheershah Movie Rating:
Direction 3.5/5
Acting 3.5/5
Dialogues 3/5
Story 4/5
Screenplay 3.5/5
Overall Hit ya Flop Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars (Very Good)
Highly Recommended 
