In Meghna Gulzar’s biopic on India’s first Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, there is a short but significant scene in which Sam Bahadur (as he was popularly known), posted in Calcutta’s Fort William as the head of the Eastern Command, comes upon an officer making one of his subordinates salute repeatedly as a form of punishment. He watches with interest, learns from the officer his reason for punishing the junior cadet and politely instructs the former to return the salute each time in accordance with military decorum. This episode sums up who Manekshaw was as a soldier and as a person. The hero of many a battle and having risen through the ranks through his achievements on the front, he was always known for being wise, fair and just; qualities which earned him love, respect and admiration from all those who ever knew the great man.
Based on the life of one of India’s greatest heroes, Sam Bahadur attempts to uncover the man behind the soldier and statesman. Tracing his four decade-long journey from a corporal in the British Indian Army, to Lieutenant General, General and, finally, Field Marshal, the film also portrays the slow and often unsteady growth of a newly independent India experiencing social change along with the political. Starting off his military career as a cadet, he is taught the importance of hierarchy, loyalty and discipline by British officers, ideas that will serve him in good stead throughout his career. Initially portrayed as a dashing young soldier who easily woos and wins the heart of young Silloo (Sanya Malhotra), he transforms into a calm, confident leader who leads a platoon against the Japanese in Burma during World War II. Post-Independence, he is shown as an astute, intelligent officer who is called upon to take critical decisions on the country’s security.
Starring in the titular role, Vicky Kaushal turns in a mature performance, embodying all the facets of Manekshaw’s towering personality. His portrayal is appropriately larger than life in scenes where he is seen leading from the front, calling his men into attack, inspiring beleaguered soldiers or lifting their morale in true Uri style. Kaushal is balanced in rendering the emotional and sensitive side of the man as a devoted husband and doting, indulgent father. He portrays the witty and humorous, yet always honest and never hurtful side of Sam when dealing with his colleague from pre-Partition days, Yahya Khan (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub), and later, when engaging with senior politicians and bureaucrats. Kaushal’s understanding and exposition of Manekshaw’s sense of humour in the toughest of times also added much-needed relief to tense, nerve-racking moments.
His portrayal of Manekshaw as a senior Army man is centred on his professionalism, political correctness and upright nature. Though Sam’s dynamics with Indira Gandhi is visualised as shaky in the beginning, it is soon evident how he gains her confidence and turns into a dependable colleague on whom the PM relies to back her up in crucial cross-border problems. Fatima Sana Shaikh, who plays India’s first and only woman PM, does her best to fit into the complex, layered role. Perhaps her best moment in the film is the one where she delivers an understated portrayal of Indira Gandhi meeting US representatives in the middle of the East Pakistan crisis. The quiet firmness with which she ticks off the powerful and diplomat Henry Kissinger clearly shows Gandhi’s self-confidence and domination of India’s political affairs.
Besides focusing on Manekshaw’s character as a true patriot and a true Indian, Sam Bahadur also touches upon the wrangles of Partition and the subsequent conflicts it led to with India’s neighbour on its western border. The origin of the Kashmir dispute is shown with considerable historical accuracy as is the background leading to India’s involvement in Bangladesh’s Liberation War of 1971. What is remarkable about this military biopic is that it steers clear of the romanticism associated with war and puts into perspective the life of a soldier. There is stark realism in every battle scene and there is no attempt to hide the bloodshed, horrors and violence of war. Depiction of Army barracks and trenches is pretty authentic and the film’s smart cinematography offers views of both close-up and panoramic battle scenes, rescue operations and aerial bombings. The indoor shots of the corridors of power are cleverly designed to highlight the relative hierarchy of Army personnel, ministers and bureaucrats.
In final analysis, the film is a tribute to a fighter and a leader, who was pragmatic in defeat and gracious in victory. Honouring his awe-inspiring military legacy, it carries the weight of a tombstone for a man who blended the qualities of a great soldier with the virtues of a fine human being.
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