Divya
‘Sardar Ka Grandson’ is a Netflix dramedy where Arjun Kapoor takes the lead into a cross-border story.
The film is directed by Kaashvi Nair and was released on the 18th of May, 2021.
Directed by: Kaashvi Nair
Run Time: 2h 20min
Ratings: 3.5/5
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh, John Abraham, Aditi Rao Hydari, Neena Gupta
Storyline
The setting of the story takes place between America and Amritsar, both places that nest the different lifestyles of a brooding Punjaban named Amreek (Arjun Kapoor). He is in a relationship with Radha (Rakul Preet Singh) and together they run a movers and packers business – Gently Gently. Contrary to their business’s title, Amreek is a clumsy man with a girlfriend who seems to be tired of his gauche mannerisms.
Amreek rushes to Amritsar upon getting a call from his father Gurkeerat (Kanwaljit Singh) who expresses fear of the former’s grandmother dying. Now enters the main character around whom the plot is revolved – Sardar (Neena Gupta). Sardar (originally named Rupinder Kaur), is a 90-year-old woman who still full of life and has one wish to fulfil before her death. She considers Amreek her favourite grandson and shares her past with him, eyes brimming with tears. Sardar wishes to visit her first home in Lahore (modern Pakistan), a house built by her and her husband Gursher Singh.
Amreek takes a while to be persuaded but eventually gives in to his grandmother’s wishes. This is when his struggle reaches its peak point. Eventually, a complex cross-border affair commences and it’s all mayhem from there.
Amidst all this, we have several flashback scenes with Rupinder and Gursher. The scenes describe their life after marriage and during the birth of their child. The time setting for these clips take place during the partition where the couple are forced to part ways with Gursher’s untimely death.
What We Think
Sardar Ka Grandson overall is a fun movie to watch with little happy moments that make you smile without realising it. However, the film lacks a strong base over which the story can be gradually built. As the saying goes too many cooks spoil the broth, we feel too many characters ruin the plot.
While Arjun Kapoor is the ideal actor to play this role, we feel his acting could have been a little more refined. An instance is the scene at the Pakistan Authority office where he fake cries to get permission to travel into Pakistan on the behalf of Sardar. Though Arjun may have been a little under the mark, we didn’t expect Neena Gupta under layers of prosthetic wrinkled skin attempting to make her appearance old and shabby.
Another noticeable flaw is the difference in dialect between Aditi Rao Hydari’s scenes as opposed to Neena Gupta. Despite them playing the same character in different time zones, the two have contrasting dialect which we find discontinuous. John Abraham on the other hand was a sight for sore eyes after his film Mumbai Saga. Regardless of not getting a good amount of screentime, we liked watching him in a full-on tough Sardarji role.
The story as a whole doesn’t easily fit into one’s mind. When we talk about moving an entire house from one country to another, nothing apart from the word ‘absurd’ pops in one’s head. A little logic and practicality could’ve saved the day. A balance is needed in any enjoyable film. it could be either the perfect blend of two genres or a focussed genre. This film, however, was neither. Nevertheless, there was a lot of love and affection shown throughout the movie which made the 2 hours bearable.
Hit or Miss?
Sardar Ka Grandson really isn’t so bad! It’s a fun hearty film with a lot of drama involved. Watching it with an open mind free of all sorts of strategization would do you a lot more good.
