Some stories are powerful in themselves, like that of the extraordinary comeback of Indian hockey captain and Arjuna Award winner Sandeep Singh. And if you can hit casting jackpot with someone like Diljit Dosanjh in the main role, then more than half your battle is won.
Shaad Ali’s Soorma belongs to Dosanjh who puts out his best performance yet. He brings an emotional earnestness that is refreshing and holds your attention, whether it is while he is playing the young, aimless boy pursuing his love interest or being pampered by his big brother, or the focused sportsman pulling off the fastest “drag flick” in the world. He is as easy laughing and playing a goof as he is crying in frustration and being aggressive on the field. If Udta Punjab gave us a hint of what Dosanjh was capable of, Soorma nets it for him.
The film opens with a young Sandeep and his older brother Bikramjeet (Angad Bedi) in Shahabad, the hockey capital of India, being brutally punished by local coach Kartar Singh. The punishment proves too much for the young Sandeep and he gives up, preferring to drive away birds from his uncle’s fields using his hockey skills.
His interest in the game is sparked by hockey player Harpreet (Taapsee Pannu) who he wants to impress. He goes back to Kartar Singh and willingly undergoes all the brutality just to get the girl but takes the game seriously only after Harpreet’s brother challenges him to make something of himself in hockey and get a job. Sandeep takes help from his brother, who fails to get selected in the Indian team, and the “drag flick” shots he perfected while driving away birds, to get noticed by senior coach Harry (Vijay Raaz). The rest of the first half goes into the making of ‘Flicker Singh’ and it is light-hearted, charming and believable, before things take a turn for the serious when he is accidentally shot in the back, paralysing him waist down.
What could have turned into a melodramatic second half — which focuses on Sandeep’s extraordinary recovery and return to the field — is kept real by Dosanjh’s convincing performance as he goes from being in pain to devastated to resigned; Angad Bedi’s understated and grounding performance helps too.
At its heart, Soorma is more about the emotional journey of a boy who played hockey for the girl, the motivated man who pushes for recovery for his family, the sportsman who surrenders himself to the love of the game and a sense of patriotism; it is not so much about the sport itself. And while that heart is in the right place, the film could have been more impactful if we could have seen Sandeep grow as a sportsman as well instead of just as an individual. The edge-of-the-seat moments that worked so well for Chak De! India were non-existent because the outcome is always a given. And the music, except for the Soorma anthem, fails to impress.
The film hits the right notes with its supporting cast, not just Bedi, but also Raaz as the sharp-tongued coach, who gets some of the best dialogues. Taapsee gets the short shrift, having been pushed to the background as Dosanjh makes his recovery. As an Indian team player with skills to match Sandeep, it would have been nice to see a little more of her journey as well.
Soorma is an inspirational tale about what a person can achieve with motivation and will power, and in that respect the film scores. But the clear winner of this set piece is Dosanjh, who we definitely want to see more of. And welcome back Shaad Ali!
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