Sarzameen Review: Ibrahim Ali Khan Comes Of Age In This Middling Film

All that trolling Ibrahim Ali Khan was subjected to after his acting debut with Nadaaniyan a few months ago feels a bit harsh now that Sarzameen has released.

Sarzameen, a patriotic action thriller with a father-son dynamic at its core, would have been an ideal debut for the actor who is mighty convincing as Harman AKA Haaris, a misguided youth on the path of terrorism.

This Dharma Productions film, helmed by Kayoze Irani in his feature directorial debut, is also the newest addition to Hindi cinema's long list of stories exploring the ever-complicated love-hate bond between a father and a son. In terms of its core idea, Sarzameen lies somewhere between Mission Kashmir, Shakti, and Animal.

Despite a promising premise, stellar stunts led by Allan Amin, and a message of love and peace, Sarzameen is a film with good intentions that works in parts. Another plus is that it's a story steeped in patriotism without the normalised chest-thumping or direct Pakistan bashing. The most the makers do to describe the neighbouring country is refer to it as uss paar.

What's Sarzameen About

Lieutenant Colonel Vijay Menon, played by Prithviraj Sukumaran, is a prototype of an average Indian father who struggles to develop, let alone maintain, a warm and comfortable relationship with his son. Harman, his son, is a meek pre-teen with a bad stutter, unlike the cliched confident, forthcoming Army brats.

Harman's overall introverted personality is a matter of shame for Vijay, who himself had a challenging and distant equation with his father, also a proud Armyman. Both Vijay and Harman halfheartedly try to mend fences but sometimes duty and sometimes ego stop them from extending an olive branch.

However, there's a bridge between the father and the son and that is the mother, Mehr, played by Kajol. One day, Harman is abducted by a young terrorist and taken hostage. In exchange for young Harman, the terrorist mastermind Kaabil asks that his beloved brother Aabil is set free.

Of Fathers And Sons

In a harkback to 1982's Shakti, starring Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan, dutyman Vijay chooses his Sarzameen, shot in Jammu Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, over his son. Harman is lost in more than one way. He is tortured, beaten, and converted. Think Mission Kashmir and change the religion and some family deets.

Now, Harman has a new name, a new identity, and a new goal by his "adoptive uncle", a terrorist. He grows up to become Haaris, a rough-and-tough young man who only wishes to kill his father and ruin his motherland by blowing his boss to pieces at the inauguration of the fictitious Koshur Dam. (Trivia - Koshur" is the native name for the Kashmiri language)

As the grown-up and vengeful Harman AKA Haaris, Ibrahim Ali Khan brings a certain credibility and vulnerability to his character of a young man who is now walking a tightrope between returning home to his parents and downright destruction as an almost hardened terrorist. The 24-year-old actor pretty much holds his own in front of superstars like Prithviraj Sukumaran and Kajol.

Like many sons, Harman, as a child, aspired to be like his father. He wanted to join the Indian Army. In a key scene, Vijay -- dressed in his uniform -- interrogates Harman in his office, asking him why he didn't "hit back" the bullies who beat him up and harassed him. When cinematographer Kamaljeet Negi's camera cuts to Vijay, the viewer gets the view of the office wall which has a big frame with Vijay's father's photograph. It's like Kal, Aaj Aur Kal but with the men of the Menon family.

In the second half, when Harman/Haaris is bullied and hit black and blue, bloodied and battered, he fights off his detractors and shows them who is in control. This time the antihero, much like Ibrahim Ali Khan who spoke about his speech impairment issues recently, boldly declares his arrival and doesn't stutter. Both his parents Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh should be happy.

Sarzameen also sees director Kayoze Irani's father, actor Boman Irani, playing Vijay's commanding officer Lieutenant General IS Kanwar.

The 'Mother' Of All Twists

Kajol's Mehr tries to reduce the distance that has come between Vijay and Harman over the years. She is a resolute and focused woman, for whom her husband and son mean the whole world to her.

In Sarzameen, Mehr may come across as a hapless mother torn between the father and the son, but there's more to her than what meets the eye. So, there's a twist and that twist is forced and very tokenistic. All that does is sweeps the viewer with nostalgia. Let's keep the secret Gupt for as long as social media will allow.

Also Read | Sarzameen Trailer: Ibrahim Ali Khan, Kajol, Prithviraj Sukumaran's Film Takes Us On A Rollercoaster Ride Of Family Drama And Patriotism

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