Subedaar

Director Suresh Triveni’s Subedaar walks down a fairly beaten path, but to its credit, it does so with considerable style. The story leans on a familiar cinematic catharsis: an apparently ordinary man—quiet, restrained, and carrying emotional baggage—ultimately takes on a group of villains and single-handedly brings them to justice. It’s a trope audiences have seen many times, yet the film manages to make it engaging

Does Indian cinema really suffer from a shortage of ageing men in action roles? With the nation’s average male superstar age steadily inching towards 60, the familiar “chacha-buddha” slander hardly makes sense today. But when director Suresh Triveni steps in with Anil Kapoor as the tough action hero, in a setup that offers no ‘Dabidi Dabidi’ to dance to, the proposition becomes instantly intriguing. That curiosity fuels Subedaar, a film that attempts to place Kapoor’s enduring screen energy within a rugged, massy canvas. Triveni has previously delivered two compelling films – the sparkly Tumhari Sulu and the humane, unsettling Jalsa. Both were anchored by women and explored their emotional landscapes very well. Which raises an intriguing question: can the filmmaker channel the same insight into a testosterone-charged universe unfolding in the lawless heartland?

The rank of Subedaar evokes humble authority in the Hindi heartland. As the army’s backbone, these quiet mainstays, often drawn from the subaltern classes, are more respected than idolised. Anil Kapoor’s status in Hindi cinema is similarly earned. The analogy finds shape in director Suresh Triveni’s emotionally charged action drama, with the repurposed folksy number “Balam Subedaar” underlining the title’s regional draw, where a culture of entitlement is pervasive.

Suresh Triveni’s Subedaar is an odd film. The Amazon Prime Video film, starring Anil Kapoor, wants to be mass in the streets and class in the sheets. The result is a curious, uneven ride. You can see the vision behind Suresh’s film: to subvert, toy with, and use the packaging and trappings of masala action cinema to examine something more raw and primal. But the result risks being neither here nor there, an action drama that struggles to thrill nor mount a moody character study. Subedaar Arjun Maurya (a fierce Anil Kapoor) is a retired army officer who’s recently returned home to an unnamed North Indian town. Arjun is the gruff rebel desperately in search of a cause. The recent passing of his wife (Khushbu Sundar) forces Arjun into retirement after 25 years in the Army. It also forces him to find his footing with Shyama, the daughter he was barely around for (a solid Radhika Madan).

Throughout Subedaar, various characters tell retired army man Arjun Maurya (Anil Kapoor) that he’s no longer on the border. Sometimes it’s a threat, sometimes a plea, but the implication is the same: there are rules to that kind of warfare, whereas the battles waged in his small north Indian hometown are cruel and illogical. “Forget you were in the army,” his friend Prabhakar (Saurabh Shukla) urges him. “Welcome to real life.” But Arjun is spiralling in his grief and spoiling for a fight. From the moment we lay eyes on Arjun’s shiny new red Gypsy, we know it’ll be John Wick’s dog. The car symbolises his memory of his wife, who died in an accident while he was away on duty. So, when bratty gangster Prince (Aditya Rawal) takes offense to the veteran’s gruff manner and gets his thugs to trash the vehicle, Arjun snaps. A lot of this is grief turned to rage, but there’s also some relief. The car is a reminder of how he neglected his family for years and wasn’t around for his wife’s final moments. Instead of mending relationships with his grieving, resentful daughter, Shyama (Radhika Madan), isn’t it easier to take on the local sand mafia?

Retired Subedaar Arjun Maurya returns to his hometown, seeking to mend the bond with his daughter, Shyama. His peace is shattered when a sand-mafia heir, Prince, comes in his way. Pushed to his limit, the soldier reawakens his military instincts. Arjun must navigate a personal war of redemption and a battle against Babli Didi’s criminal empire to protect his family and honour. Anil Kapoor’s raw intensity, brought alive with his physicality and sharp dialogue delivery, is easily the film’s lifeline. If you manage to take the film seriously, it is all about his visceral screen presence. Radhika Madan has a decent character arc as the rebellious, grieving daughter, though the performance is hardly her best.

A brooding man returns to his hometown. Lots of emotional baggage. Plenty of memories of the wife he just lost. Estranged daughter. Roguish best friend. All he wants to do is live. But the town has other ideas. Nothing is right; there is chaos and oppression everywhere. A local goon makes it his life’s mission to bully our brooder. You know it’s a matter of time before the goon provokes the John Wick out of the griever. You know it’s coming. His violence is activated, so is a conscience; a personal mission morphs into a virtuous one. Subedaar stars Anil Kapoor as the scowler whose heroism is unplanned; Aditya Rawal plays the goon who summons the rampage. It’s a classic action-hero arc: scowl, scowl, scowl, explode. That’s how it usually goes.