SARDAR (2022)

Critic No 294

Director: P.S.Mithran

Written by: P.S.Mithran, Pon Parthiban, Roju, Binpu Ragu, Geevee

Produced by: Prince Pictures

Casts: Karthi, Raashi Khanna, Mohammad Ali Baig, Rithvik Jothi Raj, Laila, Rajisha Vijayan, Chunky Pandey

Music: G.V.Prakash

Language: Tamil

Genre: Action, Drama


SYNOPSIS: 

An espionage agent (Karthi) who has been branded a traitor returns from exile to take down a dubious water project and safeguard the country.


REVIEW:

P.S.Mithran is known for his thriller films that deal with societal issues. He had a flying start to his career with Irumbu Thirai (2018) which scared the audience with a bold topic about cyber security and mobile hacking. Through Hero (2019) was a little too preachy, his attempt to try something different through a superhero film was commendable. With Sardar, his third film, I feel that he has finally mastered the trick to deliver a grand-scale blockbuster.


Water preservation and commercialization is a very interesting topic not only for India but many developing and even developed ones. Mithran has weaved in a spy plot into this and keeps the screenplay racy even though it travels in a predictable manner. He also stages some nice heroic ‘mass’ moments for Karthi who laps it well with a seasoned performance, essaying two extremely different roles. 


The supporting characters and antagonists are quite functional and the romantic track in the present narrative track feels a little forced. If some parts could have been trimmed with lesser characters and stronger antagonists, the film could have been even bigger in terms of cinematic experience. The flashback portions are written with so much conviction and are easily the best sequence of the film. G.V. Prakash’s songs are just okay but the score helps Mithran to amplify his beats as visioned. 


And as usual, Mithran targets our brain more than our hearts but with the lesser preachy story, he excels to hold our attention to deliver a story that matters.



VERDICT:

Though Sardar feels a little stretched and over-stuffed, the thriller beats and relevant message work in favour of the film to deliver a neat entertainer shouldered by Karthi’s dedicated performance.


CELLULOID METER- 3.25/5:

Watch the full film on Aha:

https://www.aha.video/movie/sardar-tamil

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