The story of Subedaar is a classic one-man army plot. But director and writer Suresh Triveni manages to bring some newness within this. The fractured father and daughter relationship with a feisty Radhika Madan is the best thing about Subedaar
Starcast: Anil Kapoor, Radhika Madan, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, Saurabh Shukla, Mona Singh, Khusboo etc
Genre: Action/drama
Writer and director: Suresh Triveni
Additional writer: Prajwal Chandrasekhar
Producers: Anil Kapoor, Suresh Triveni and Vikram Malhotra
Cinematography: Ajay Saxena
Music: Rohan Vinayak, Raj Mawar etc
Production Companies: Abundatia Entertainment and Anil Kapoor productions
Streaming site: Amazon Prime
Running time: 2 hours plus
Suresh Triveni’s latest feature plays out like a cross between the masala cinema of 70’s and 80’s with a dash of western influence. At the center of Subedaar is Anil Kapoor’s Arjun Maurya. A retired major struggling to deal with civilian life. Radhika Madan is the angsty daughter Shyama. Arjun and Shyama have a fractured relationship and in terms of temperament they share more than one similarity. Arjun’s life turns upside down when his world collides with Aditya Rawal’s prince. Prince is a mafia hair to Mona Singh’s Babli Didi. Panchyat fame Faisal Malik is the calculating operator often frustrated with Prince temperament. Finally, there is Saurabh Shukla too as Arjun’s confidante and longtime friend Prabhakar. The story in simple terms focuses on Arjun’s fight back as well as Shyama’s own battles.
A strong aspect of Subedaar is the gritty texture. The backdrop of sand mafia with the rugged atmospherics has an authentic feel. A major reason for that is Ajay Saxena’s cinematography along with the production design. There is a lived-in feel to the area of prince and Babli Didi. The extreme lawlessness though a cliched trope has come out well.
Mention must also be made of the portions depicting Arjun Maurya’s internal struggles. This includes a certain guilt on not being with his wife when she needed him as well as identity crisis. There is a crucial scene where Arjun talks about the cost of being patriotic. The gradually simmering anger has been built up well. When the pent-up anger eventually explodes the action feels justified rather than just a regular hero and villain thing. Anil Kapoor plays the part with a good mixture of emotional vulnerability and volatileness. It’s a treat to watch the actor doing hard core action proving that he can give any young actor a run for his money.
The characterization of Radhika Madan is also a big plus coupled with her act. Shyama carries a certain inner resentment towards her father and there is a confrontational nature to the way she handles things. Radhika does a very good job in pulling off a feisty woman especially in the action sequence where she saves herself from a bunch of guys.
Subedaar also scores on the account of strong villains. Aditya Rawal as Prince is deliberately hammy but the young actor more than holds his own opposite the veteran Anil Kapoor. Aditya brings in the required intimidation in spite of a one note character. Mona Singh as Babli Didi is more understated but thoroughly effective. Her interaction with Anil Kapoor over a video call is especially entertaining. The actress once again proves her versatility. Faisal Malik underplays beautifully for a large part; at the same time there is a certain switch too when he gives it back to Babli. Faisal Malik is absolutely solid.
Saurabh Shukla as Arjun Maurya’s longtime friend brings in the required warmth. His scenes with Anil Kapoor have a tender nature. Khushboo Sundar as the dead wife could have done with more screen time rather than being just a memory. Yes, she plays her part with grace but a few more scenes of her and Anil would have enhanced the emotional quotient.
The core of Subedaar is nothing new and this does become a deterrent in the eventual scheme of things. From mid second half things start to stagnate. Also, the subplot connected to sand mafia with Arjun Maurya becoming a savior needed better writing.
Final word: Subedaar is worth watching for fans of gritty action dramas and Anil Kapoor admirers.
