Introduction
While we only talk about successful film that have been able to hold up for many years now, this Anniversary rewind review is something different. It was 2020, and Yash Raj Films were ready to roll out their selected slate of five films to celebrate their fifty years in the industry under the name 'YRF50', but the COVID-19 pandemic played a spoilsport. Cut to 2022; YRF revised their slate, included Pathaan and Tiger 3 in it, and planned to start executing, what they couldn't, two years ago. There was skepticism among the public as the YRF50 slate had two big budget period action films: Samrat Prithviraj and Shamshera (a genre which YRF is not known for), but expectations were high as well. 'Shamshera' was directed by Karan Malhotra, and starred Ranbir Kapoor, Vaani Kapoor, and Sanjay Dutt in the lead roles. Although this was Ranbir Kapoor's first major release after Sanju (2018), it tanked big time at the box office and proved the' YRF50' plan to be doomed, for the third straight time after Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022), and Samrat Prithviraj (2022). Pathaan was the only YRF50 film that gave them a sigh of relief by becoming an all time blockbuster (which made more than Rs 1000 crore worldwide and made up for the loses that the other films made), and Tiger 3 somehow managed to secure the hit tag, by relying on the shoulders of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif.
Read along to know how this big budget period drama with a good star-cast and an extremely well received trailer, went to become one of the biggest box office failures of recent times.
Basic Plot
Balli, the leader of Khameran, a local tribe, aspires to fulfill his father Shamshera's dream of gaining independence from the British, in 1896.
Positives
Ranbir Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, and the train sequence
Among the very less positive aspects of the film are these, which makes this terribly directed film, somewhat watchable. Ranbir Kapoor in the father-son dual role, is convincing, gritty, expressive, and raw, and although this film has some significantly common tropes of typical Bollywood romance (absolutely irrelevant in a film like this), this is a role that Ranbir Kapoor did not play up till then, and so that was a very mere novel aspect of this film. Sanjay Dutt as Shudh Singh is quite menacing and I, honestly, liked how Dutt portrayed his character. He had only a handful of good dialogues, but his spot-on dialogue delivery handled the rest of the forgettable lines pretty well. Sanjay Dutt was fighting cancer while shooting this film, but kudos to his towering acting prowess, that just doesn't allow you to realize something so serious like this. Both of these characters were meant to be pitted against each other (very much like any of YRF's recent two-hero films) for a mouthwatering clash, and while that is quite ample in the screenplay, it's the poor set-up that marginalizes the essentiality (oh what a heavy word!) of an otherwise well choreographed action, by Parvez Shaikh and Franz Spilhaus. The action, in particular, is quite good and refined and the highlight has to be the train action, followed by the one take hand-to-hand combat. That was a really fun action scene.
Underwhelming Aspects
Direction and Screenplay
This is where director Karan Malhotra has cooked the ultimate recipe for disaster, and I'm not exaggerating. I know Malhotra has been away from the limelight after Brothers (2015) and while I do not mean to suggest that he forgot how to direct a film, well, Shamshera says otherwise. The father-son relationship is just non-existent, and it is particularly shocking as this was the catalyst behind the film's beautifully edited trailer. The struggle of the character of 'Shamshera' is just so hastily showcased that you don't really feel the purpose of someone, waging a war of independence against the British. There are surely a couple of disturbingly delightful scenes in the film to show British dominance, but that's about it. You would seriously be irritated by how 'all over the place' and aimless the writing is. And God, even the direction isn't far behind! Apart from a sloppy and inconsistent writing, Shamshera is suffers from a confusing and disorganized writing, whose elements do not fall into place. The interval block makes you feel that the film has ended and there's no need for another 80 minutes of poorly directed disoriented scenes that come one after the other. The film can seriously test your patience as it's considerably boring, so much so, that even Sanjay Dutt or Ranbir Kapoor cannot save it with their act. I am stunned that the makers did not find it important to include a single real life historical reference to make the film accurate (even if by an inch). What you get instead, is a vague idea of the story being set between 1871 and 1896, no showcasing of regional or cultural references, absurd storytelling, and Vaani Kapoor doing, what Katrina Kaif did in Thugs of Hindostan (2018); dance, get scared, repeat. And by the way, didn't the makers feel it abnormal to have Vaani Kapoor dressed in South-Bombay costumes (and even no costumes in a couple of shots, weirdly enough) and roam about in picturesque locations of Leh, and that too, in a film based in the late 1890's? You may call it 'escapism factor', 'commercial cinema', or whatever comes into your mind, and I would have even made my peace with it! You have to have your conviction in place man! You can't just serve raw food, and get away, saying: 'Oh it's a fashion'. The execution is poor to be honest, and highly uninspiring as well, let alone the storytelling. At a solid 160 minutes of runtime, you will be exhausted and irritated, as the film ends.
Conclusion
I won't lie- there are quite a few positive aspects in the film, apart from Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt; A good production design, rich visuals, decent music, minimal CGI and some nice action. But sadly, none of these are enough to even condemn the damage, done to the film by a poor writing and sub-par direction. The subtle metaphor involving 'crows', which would've been a job well done if executed properly, falls too flat for people to even understand. Even the climax, which was decent in particular, feels just passable due to the already stretched out writing prior to the final act. Yash Raj Film's failed track record with historical films continued with Shamshera as well, which pretty much suggests why they did not went for another historical gamble even after three years of this film's release. 'Indian dirt only Indian hand can clean... white hand get black sir' says Sanjay Dutt in the film and while he certainly clean some of the Indian dirt in the film, the stain of this box office bomb remains intact even after three years!
Watch Out For
- Visuals and Production Design
WTF Rating
4/10