Sam Bahadur

<p>In 1934, cadet Sam Manekshaw is amongst the first batch of gentleman cadets to be trained at the , Dehradun; amongst his batchmates is his junior-rival, . Graduating from the academy that year, he is posted as a second lieutenant to the , . Soon after his appointment, he meets Siloo Bode, whom he later marries. In 1942, during the , Manekshaw, promoted to the acting rank of major, is sent with the regiment to participate in the . During the , he is wounded in action but survives and is awarded the for gallantry. In 1947, amidst the partition of the , Manekshaw is approached to join the by his colleague, ; he chooses the instead. Upon independence, discord emanates between the two countries over the sovereignty of Kashmir. In October 1947, Pakistan launches its to capture the region. In response, Indian prime minister and home minister dispatch Manekshaw and to Kashmir; they succeed in securing the accession of Kashmir to India. India counter-attacks, but the war concludes in a stalemate. In 1959, Manekshaw, now a and , , is approached by defence minister and Lt. Gen. of his opinion on the (COAS) Gen. . Manekshaw, interpreting their actions as political interference, rebuffs them. However, Kaul conspires to stop Manekshaw’s upcoming promotion by orchestrating a court-martial on the basis of impropriety; nevertheless, but Manekshaw is exonerated by his superiors. In 1962, the erupts, leading to the army being trounced by the Chinese; Kaul resigns while Nehru dismisses Menon. On the advice of , Nehru has Manekshaw promoted to lieutenant-general and assigns him as commanding officer of the , . He proposes an advance, but Nehru, forlorn from defeat, refuses; Indira intercedes in Manekshaw’s favour. By 1963, Manekshaw manages to re-rally his troops in the . In 1964, Nehru dies, and Manekshaw is promoted as of the ; two years later, Indira is appointed prime minister. Between 1965 and 1967, Manekshaw involves himself in the anti-insurgency operations against the , for which he earns the . In 1969, with discord amongst the Bengalis in rising, Yahya, now a general, is made Pakistan’s president; elsewhere, Manekshaw is appointed as the Indian Army’s next COAS and promoted to general as well. In 1970, the East Pakistan-based sweep Pakistan’s general elections, however Yahya refuses to cede power to them, resulting in . In response, Yahya authorises Tikka, now a lieutenant-general, to initiate – a massive anti-Bengali pogrom, which he executes with ruthless efficiency. Considering the situation, Indira favours war, but Manekshaw opposes it, highlighting the army’s hindrances; she agrees to wait. The U.S. warns Indira against war, but she rebuffs them. The army is mobilized and begins training the . On 3 December 1971, Pakistan strikes first, launching pre-emptive attacks on Indian territory. India immediately responds with counter-attacks in Pakistan’s western and eastern sectors. The opposing armies witness profound clashes, with Pakistan bearing numerous casualties on land, sea and air in both sectors. By 16 December, the Pakistani troops in the east, overwhelmed, surrender to the Eastern Command – ending the war. The conclusion cedes a political triumph to Indira while Yahya resigns from the humiliation of defeat. With Manekshaw’s retirement approaching, Indira has him promoted to the rank of field-marshal in recognition of his wartime leadership, which he proudly accepts in January 1973, just a fortnight from his retirement. In 2017 Meghna Gulzar narrated the story of the biopic on Sam Manekshaw to Kaushal at the sets of which she planned to make her next film. Kaushal impressed by the idea decided that he would play the character. She then went for years of extensive research and writing collaborating with Bhavani Iyer and Shantanu Srivastava, also meeting with family members of Sam Manekshaw. The film marks the second collaboration between Gulzar and Kaushal. In 2021, the film was announced by on the 107th birth anniversary of late Sam Manekshaw. was filmed with real Indian army soldiers. In December 2021, Shaikh and Malhotra joined the cast, marking their third collaboration after and . Kabi joined in September 2022 to portray the role of marking his second collaboration with Gulzar after . Kaushal has gone through extensive training in the army under the guidance of the Indian Army’s 6 Sikh Regiment in preparing for his role. Kaushal in an interview with revealed that the character would be his toughest onscreen role to date. The film will not have junior artists and instead real-life army personnel and people from the Defence Force have been cast. The commenced on 8 August 2022. The film was shot over two years in 13 locations in India covering four decades of the life of Sam Manekshaw. Filming took place in , , , , , , , , , , , and . The team wrapped on 14 March 2023. The music of the film was composed by while the lyrics are written by . Background score is composed by Ketan Sodha. The first single titled “Badhte Chalo” was released on 13 November 2023. The second single titled “Banda” released on 22 November 2023. The film was theatrically released on 1 December 2023, clashing with Ranbir Kapoor’s The film premiered on on 26 January 2024. received mixed reviews from critics and audiences. On the website , 38% of 16 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. Catherine Bray of rated the film 3 stars and stated “It’s a perennial problem for biopics; how to give events the momentum of fiction when the underlying narrative is fact.” of rated 3.5 stars out of 5, critisied “I am afraid Vicky Kaushal, a reasonably talented actor, is not equal to the task. … But mimicking the original doesn’t quite amount to a comprehensive character creation.” of gave a rating 2.5/5 and wrote “It’s hard to play a character so closely without becoming a caricature, but Kaushal becomes .” of gave a rating of 2.5/5 and wrote, “Nothing that the movie tells isn’t already available in the public domain.” of expressed “Vicky Kaushal is the last person I’d imagine as playing Manekshaw.” Shekhar gave 3 stars to the movie and wrote “The trivia that follows is the film. Messing with no known facts, one bit. Only detailing them as they’re widely known.” Anuj Kumar of stated “The film critiques the relationship between the politicians and the military.” Reviewing for , Prannay Pathak spotted the music of the movie is underperforming. Pathak wrote “The film’s music is loud, distracting and unmelodious (the war anthem Badhte Chalo is unbelievably insipid and inelegant), which is surprising considering Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s obvious musical prowess and the trio’s last fabulous collaboration with Gulzar, Raazi.” Anusha Sundar for reviewed and wrote “Sam Bahadur is unfortunately apathetic to both its protagonist and the audience.” Devesh Sharma of rated the movie 3.5/5 stars and observed “Vicky Kaushal channels his inner Dev Anand to play the title character.” Nandini Ramnath of observed “The greatest hits approach leans on recorded history rather than compelling fiction for dramatic momentum.” Pratikshya Mishra of commented ” is relegated to the ranks of a simple biography.” Tatsam Mukherjee of stated “Sam Bahadur is a painfully ‘safe’ film that is in much awe of its protagonist…” Writing a review for , praised Meghna Gulzar’s effort and stated “You have to grant it to Meghna’s research team and those sourcing military hardware for the film.” On its first day, the film collected , the second day and the third day . The film has earned (US$13 million) in India and (US$2.1 million) in overseas for a worldwide gross collection of (US$15 million).</p>