Story
Udham
Singh
begins
with
a
quick
recalling
of
the
horrific
massacre
in
the
walled
city
of
Amritsar
in
which
Brigadier-General
Reginald
Dyer
had
ordered
his
men
to
open
fire
at
a
peaceful
gathering
of
over
20,000
people
at
Jallianwala
Bagh,
without
warning.
The
film
then
jumps
to
Punjab,
1931
where
Sher
Singh
(Vicky
Kaushal)
is
released
from
the
prison
after
completing
his
term.
He
learns
from
his
comrade
Nand
Singh
that
most
of
the
leaders
of
Hindustan
Socialist
Republican
Association
(HSRA)
have
been
either
arrested
or
shot
down
by
the
British.
Post
a
series
of
events,
Sher
Singh
finally
lands
up
in
London
in
1934
to
garner
international
support
and
regroup
HSRA.
After
lying
low
for
sometime,
Singh
gives
a
huge
blow
to
the
British
Empire
by
carrying
out
the
assassination
of
Michael
O'Dyer
at
a
joint
meeting
of
the
East
India
Association
and
the
Central
Asian
Society
(now
Royal
Society
for
Asian
Affairs)
at
Caxton
Hall,
London
in
1940.
The
rest
of
the
plot
revolves
around
the
events
which
led
to
this
assassination
and
the
aftermath
of
the
ghastly
Jallianwala
Bagh
Massacre.
Direction
Just
like
the
man
who
waited
for
two
decades
to
seek
revenge
for
the
brutal
killing
of
his
brethren
in
his
homeland,
director
Shoojit
Sircar
also
took
20
years
to
bring
this
incident
of
historic
importance
to
life
on
the
big
screen.
Together
with
writers
Ritesh
Shah
and
Shubhendu
Bhattacharya,
the
filmmaker
gives
us
a
better
understanding
of
revolutionary
Udham
Singh
and
his
belief
system
when
it
comes
to
the
freedom
movement
of
India.
Sircar
who
has
a
knack
for
human
emotions,
handles
this
subject
with
maturity
and
sensitivity.
Amid
all
this,
there
is
also
an
instance
where
the
storyteller
tries
to
make
a
commentary
on
the
current
political
scenario
with
the
help
of
Bhagat
Singh's
revolutionary
political
thought.
On
the
flipside,
the
film
takes
its
own
sweet
time
to
delve
into
the
heart
of
the
plot.
Coming
to
the
another
crucial
aspect
is
the
reenactment
of
the
Jallianwala
Bagh.
Shoojit
Sircar
has
spent
a
lot
of
time
in
showing
us
the
aftermath
of
the
horrific
incident.
Does
it
work?
Yes,
almost.
It's
just
that
it
gets
a
bit
laborious
at
times.
Of
course,
Vicky
is
quite
a
revelation
in
those
portions.
You
connect
with
every
emotion
of
his.
When
his
frail
legs
give
away
while
carrying
pile
of
dead
bodies,
you
feel
the
exhaustion
too.
Performances
Sardar
Udham
is
a
Vicky
Kaushal
show
all
the
way.
Right
from
his
body
language
to
his
voice
modulation,
the
man
gets
it
bang
on
right.
Besides
his
steely
resolution
as
Udham
Singh,
he
also
exudes
a
certain
innocence
in
the
younger
portions
as
the
revolutionary
figure.
Banita
Sandhu
as
Reshma
(Udham's
friend
and
love
interest)
tries
to
make
the
most
out
of
her
role.
Amol
Parashar
puts
up
an
impressive
act
as
Bhagat
Singh
and
shines
despite
his
limited
presence.
His
scenes
with
Vicky
Kaushal
are
impactful.
Shaun
Scott
as
Michael
O'Dyer
does
his
job
well.
Technical
Aspects
This
Shoojit
Sircar
directorial
presents
several
haunting
visuals
which
linger
with
you
for
a
long
time
and
the
credit
goes
to
Avik
Mukhopadhyay.
Be
it
Vicky's
character
braving
the
cruel
cold
amid
snow-capped
mountains
to
hawks
looming
over
the
sky
with
piles
of
dead
bodies
lying
on
the
ground,
the
cinematographer
breathes
life
in
those
scenes
with
his
brilliant
camera
work.
One
of
the
sore
points
of
Sardar
Udham
is
Chandrashekhar
Prajapati's
lazy
editing.
At
a
runtime
of
around
3
hours,
the
film
makes
you
restless
at
places.
A
more
tighter
grip
on
the
editing
scissors
would
have
made
this
Vicky-starrer
a
much
more
powerful
film.
Pradip
Jadhav's
art
direction
is
top-notch.
Music
Sardar
Udham
steers
clear
of
inserting
unnecessary
songs
in
its
narrative
and
that
works
in
its
favour.
The
background
score
also
lends
to
the
sobriety
of
the
film.
Verdict
After
hearing
Udham
Singh
recount
how
he
watched
the
ugly
dance
of
death
through
his
own
eyes
as
an
aftermath
of
the
Jallianwala
Bagh
tragedy,
his
lawyer
St
John
Hutchinson
asks
him
what
he
could
do
for
him.
The
freedom
fighter
who
is
waiting
to
be
executed,
replies,
"Tell
people
that
I
was
a
revolutionary."
Shoojit
Sircar
and
his
team
need
to
be
lauded
for
choosing
to
tell
a
story
about
an
unsung
hero
whom
we
have
only
met
through
our
History
textbooks.
Despite
the
few
flaws
which
it
has,
Sardar
Udham
needs
to
be
watched
purely
for
the
larger
message-
'No
one
wins
in
a
war.'