Sarzameen

Sulking sons, duty-bound fathers, and suffering mothers make for engaging Hindi cinema. This week, emerging director Kayoze Irani revisits familiar daddy issues with mixed results. Sarzameen’s basic premise reminds me of Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti, where circumstances force a father in uniform (Prithivraj Sukumaran) to choose between his son (Ibrahim Ali Khan) and his duty. Set in the picturesque political cauldron of Kashmir, the stakes get higher here when the neglected son stutters his way into the enemy camp led by dreaded militant Kabil (K.C. Shankar). As expected, the mother (Kajol) tries to be the connecting link, but a past that needs to be addressed remains unhealed, leaving wounds unresolved.

In Sarzameen (“beloved land”), an Indian army officer, Colonel Vijay Menon (Prithviraj Sukumaran), is tasked with ending violence in the Valley. The Kashmir-for-Dummies setting aids him. All he must do is “liberate Kashmir from the mysterious terrorist whose code-name is Mohsin”. It’s simple. But Vijay — that Angry Young Man who wears generational rage as his uniform — has a problem. And it’s not Kaabil (K.C. Shankar), the dangerous militant he’s just captured. Vijay has a son, Harman (Ronav Parihar), who stammers. His old-school masculinity cannot accept it; he is ashamed, despite daily implorations from his wife, Meher (Kajol). Naturally, Vijay’s mission reaches a point where he must choose between his abducted son and his country. The colonel makes his choice. (Lest we don’t get it, he acts out his thoughts — always). But it is not without consequences: eight years later, a seemingly radicalised young man named Harman (Ibrahim Ali Khan) returns to his parents. Is he the new Mohsin? Does his trauma matter? Is he cute? Where is his stutter?

Director Kayoze Irani, son of actor Boman Irani, might be a fan of the Hollywood action-thrillers set in the middle-east. It might be the reason why I was reminded of films like Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Body of Lies (2008) and TV series Homeland (2011-2020) while watching Irani’s feature debut, Sarzameen. These films/shows valourise and sympathise with American national security agencies like the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and the US armed forces. They have been criticised for (sometimes unintentionally) legitimising the American invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and characterising the locals in simplistic hues as barbarians and/or victims. It’s clear that Irani hasn’t grappled with the curdling reputation of such films/shows that inspired his debut, because he showcases similarly problematic politics in his own venture. It fits like a glove, of course. Divided by international borders, united by our effort to prioritise sleek, sexy thrills over nuanced, empathetic narratives.

There are three people, bound by blood, at cross-purposes in Sarzameen. An Armyman whose love for his country knows no bounds. His son whose weakness is hard for the strict dad to handle. And his (the Armyman’s) wife, whose love is divided. Who will win? The father or the son? In either event, will the wife win, or the mother? Sarzameen is yet another addition to the line of recent films which wears its patriotism on its sleeve. This Karan Johar production tries to add an emotional wallop, giving us the enemy without and a conflict within, and that layer should have helped this film become more than the run-of-the-mill productions we’re being besieged with these days.

Sarzameen, directed by Kayoze Irani and starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, Kajol, and Ibrahim Ali Khan, struggles to rise above its tired father-son conflict and predictable melodrama. Marketed as a political thriller set against the Kashmir backdrop, the film fails to deliver emotional depth or gripping tension. While Ibrahim Ali Khan shows promise in his role, the narrative is weighed down by clichés and implausible plot twists. The soundtrack by Vishal Mishra and Vishal Khurana, especially Aa Gale Lag Ja, is the film’s saving grace. Compared to nuanced family dramas like Udaan, Piku, and Kapoor & Sons, Sarzameen feels like an uninspired retread of worn-out Bollywood formulas. Ah, the Hindi film industry—forever suckling at the teat of generational trauma. And what better trope to flog than the threadbare baap-beta conflict? Not because it’s profound, but because it’s easy. Like instant noodles. Or, more accurately, an overused Dharma cliché.

An army man sworn to protect his country at any cost. Even if the cost is his young son’s life. It resembles the premise of the Dilip Kumar-Amitabh Bachchan starrer Shakti (1982), tautly directed by Ramesh Sippy. Dilip Kumar had played uncompromising DCP Ashwini Kumar who wouldn’t negotiate with a gangster even if it meant endangering son Vijay’s life. Vijay, played by Amitabh Bachchan, had grown up resenting his father and had purposefully walked off in the opposite direction – to the world of crime. Travel to a troubled Kashmir in the 90s and transplant the Shakti theme against an Indo-Pak backdrop, with Soumil Shukla and Arun Singh (along with Kausar Munir and Jehan Handa) taking credit for story, screenplay and dialogues. After running to the rescue of his men who’ve walked into a trap, a fierce exchange of fire and much hand-to-hand combat, staunch army man Vijay Menon (Prithviraj Sukumaran) captures dreaded brothers Qaabil (KC Shankar) and Aabil (Rohed Khan). But when his own son Harman (Ronav Parihar) is nabbed, Vijay faces the toughest decision of his life – release the terror brothers who are wreaking havoc in the valley in exchange for his son?

‘वतन के आगे कुछ नहीं, खुद भी नहीं।’ फिल्म ‘राज़ी’ का यह डायलॉग तो आपको याद ही होगा! निर्माता करण जौहर अब उसी तर्ज पर अपनी नई देशभक्ति फिल्म लेकर आए हैं। फिल्म का नाम है- सरजमीन, और सार है- सरजमीं के आगे कुछ नहीं, बेटा भी नहीं। लेकिन अफसोस कि देशभक्ति के जज्बे से लेकर रिश्तों की भावनाओं तक, करण जौहर की यह फिल्म किसी मायने में ‘राज़ी’ के करीब भी नहीं फटकती। कश्मीर की खूबसूरत वादियों में सेट यह कहानी है, देश को सबसे ऊपर रखने वाले जांबाज आर्मी अफसर कर्नल विजय मेनन (पृथ्वीराज सुकुमारन) की, जो एक मुठभेड़ में दो आतंकियों आबिल और काबिल को गिरफ्तार कर लेता है। इन दोनों को रिहा करवाने के लिए आतंकी विजय के बेटे हरमन (इब्राहिम अली खान) को अगवा कर लेते हैं। अब विजय को देश और बेटे में से किसी एक को चुनना है। अपनी पत्नी मेहरूनिसा (काजोल) के दबाव में आकर पिता के दिल के आगे वह झुक भी जाता है और बेटे के बदले इन आतंकियों को छोड़ने को तैयार हो जाता है, मगर ऐन मौके पर देश के प्रति उसका कर्तव्य जाग जाता है।

Kayoze Irani’s Sarzameen reminded me of another, very different Kajol film. I won’t say which, or why. What I will say is that if you’re hoping to land a wild plot twist, at least flesh out enough characters that the viewer can’t figure out the reveal through simple deduction. Something about eliminating the impossible… This is the second film in two months set in modern-day Kashmir and revolving around the armed forces serving there. Ground Zero, released days after the Pahalgam attack, is about a model BSF officer, devoted to his wife and young daughter. It’s the more interesting of the two films, building to the verge of critical self-assessment before retreating to the safer ground of patriotic duty. Sarzameen has a more fractious military family at its centre. Colonel Vijay Menon (Prithviraj Sukumaran) is introduced with a dramatic victory, leading the capture of separatist Qaabil (K.C. Shankar), believed to be the shadowy string-puller ‘Mohsin’. But in the very next scene—in what will become a pattern—he’s handed a defeat at home, at a party hosted by his wife, Meher (Kajol). She has a surprise: their son, Harman, wants to say a few words about his father. But the boy can’t overcome his stutter, and is embarrassed into silence by the pointed murmuring of guests and his father’s clear discomfort.