Movie Review of Punjabi Movie Sardar Mohammad starring Tarsem Jassar, Karamjit Anmol, Sardar Sohi & others. Directed by Harry Bhatti.

Star cast: Tarsem Jassar, Karamjit Anmol, Sardar Sohi, Rana Jang Bahadur, Neeta Mohindra, Rahul Jungral, Manjit Singh, Harshjot Kaur, Neetu Pandher & Mandy Takhar

Director: Harry Bhatti

Producer: Manpreet Johal, Vehli Janta Team

Music: R Guru

Running Time: 140 minutes

Synopsis: Sardar Mohammad is the story of Surjit Singh who is the eldest son in the family of Retired Colonel Harjit Singh (Sardar Sohi) who has served for the Police Force under the British Rule and later joined the Indian Army. Surjit has 3 younger brothers and a younger sister. Life is going smooth and Surjit is even about to get married to Mandy Takhar. However, things take a turn when Surjit learns that he is not the real son of Colonel instead he was separated from his family during the Partition of 1947. Surjit learns that he has a mother in Pakistan and he decided to visit the neighbouring country in search of his mother. In Pakistan, he finds friends who help and support him in the search of his mother.

Review: I loved Tarsem Jassar and Harry Bhatti’s debut film, Rabb Da Radio but I am afraid that I cannot say the same about this film all together. Tarsem Jassar has taken up multiple tasks in this film – Lead Actor, Story Writer, Screenplay Writer, Dialogue Writer, Lyricist, Composer, Producer & God knows what else. The film carries a blend of emotion, drama & tries to churn all the elements into a typical potboiler commercial film at heart but the films ends up being nothing but a disappointment because of the sky high expectations that I had from the film after I saw the trailer.

Story-Screenplay-Dialogues are all penned by Tarsem Jassar and are based on real life events and the film informs the viewer about the inspiration through a Disclaimer in the very beginning of the film. The film begins on a very sluggish note as the comedy seems to be a forceful insertion in the very beginning and bears no connection to the overall storyline of the film. The Story is something which I can call new in terms of Punjabi Cinema but the treatment given to the story is very immature thus making a good idea seem boring on screen.

Also, most of the moments in the 1st half have no relevance to the actual plot line. They have just been added in order to give a commercial feel to the film  so that the viewer finds a bit of comedy, a little bit of romance (just the song), melodrama and what not. The dialogues were pretty regular and can be termed as mediocre. Overall, the writing of Sardar Mohammad is an opportunity missed.

Coming to direction, Harry Bhatti co-directed his debut film, Rabb Da Radio and this time he has directed the film completely on his own. Sardar Mohammad is one of those films which had a good story, a weak screenplay but bad direction made the film even more weaker. Harry just couldn’t handle the crunch situations. Seems like Harry Bhatti still has a lot to learn as a film-maker. I have always been of the believe that ‘A Successful Music Video director does not necessarily qualify as a successful film-maker’. Both the aspects are completely different from each other.

Coming to performances, I cannot point out a single performance which stood out in the whole film. Tarsem Jassar tried hard, put in all the efforts he could but still there was something missing which stops me from using terms such as amazing, standout, applause-worthy (Mind you, I am a hardcore Tarsem Jassar Fan). Karamjit Anmol is a fine actor and this is his 4th release in a span of 28 days. However, here he was under-utilised. Sardar Sohi was routine as usual. Rahul Jungral did a somewhat okays job. He could be someone who can make a name for himself in future if his choice of roles is good.

Harshjot Kaur, last seen in Qissa Panjab does well here as well. She plays Tarsem’s sister in the film. Neetu Pandher had a small role and was efficient. Rana Jung Bahadur also had 3-4 scenes in the film and was all right. However, Sardar Mohammad would be a disappointment for Mandy Takhar fans as she is seen only in the song, Single Double which also happens to be a dream sequence.

Music of the film lacked the feel of a Motion Pictures Soundtrack except for the Title Track of the film. It was more of the music which works regularly as a Single Track or a supporting track in a music album. However, tracks like Asool, Pind and Sardar Mohammad (Title Track) would be my picks from the album.

Overall, Sardar Mohammad carried a big weight of expectations and I am afraid to say that the film does not live upto those expectations and I am afraid that the film does not give me any message (At least I did not figure out what the message was).