With the lockdown in all major cities extended by a week or so, it's pretty much evident that OTT platforms will continue to remain the main release portal atleast for the next few months. This week saw the release of Kaashvi Nair's "Sardar ka Grandson" on Netflix which seemed like another flick that was about Indo-Pak brotherhood with a mention of the pain of Partition. Well we have heard Celine Dion sing 'love can move mountains' & this light hearted comedy/emotional flick is about a grandson literally move a house from across the border. Perplexed??? actually, I'm not joking.
Amreek (Arjun Kapoor) resides in LA & runs a movers and packers company along with his girlfriend, Radha (Rakul Preet Singh). The couple hits a rough patch in their relationship & Radha decide to call it quits. It was at this juncture that Amreek had to head back home as his grandmother, Sardar (Neena Gupta) had a tumour that could prove fatal. As her last wish, she wanted Amreek to take her to Lahore to visit the house that she had built with her husband, late Gursher Singh (John Abraham) prior to Partition. It certainly seemed like a practical wish until Amreek realized that his grandmother was blacklisted by the Pakistani embassy for an altercation that she had with one of their high ranking officials during a cricket match.
This is Kaashvi's debut directorial venture & she has penned the script along with Anuja Chauhan. The basic idea of the movie was interesting & kinda reminded me of Pete Doctor's animation movie "Up" as well as shades of Imtiaz Ali's "Love Aaj Kal" (2009). Anywaz according to Kaashvi, she was inspired by the 2017 Al Jazeera documentary "Going back to Pakistan: 70 Years After Partition". This idea was however royally messed up with an absolutely pathetic hare brained screenplay that didn't seem to be bothered about the thought process or finesse that ought to have gone into the protagonist's plan. As for the technical aspects, they are fine though it doesn't deserve special mention.
In recent times, Neena Gupta has come up with some praise worthy performances & as Sardar, she was fine though the role & the prosthetics didn't offer her much scope. As for the rest of the cast, they are average at best be it Arjun, Rakul, Aditi & John; while the romantic track between the latter two was barely explored and would have added more emotional impact.
Verdict: This is a classic example of an interesting thread muddled up coz of a crappy screenplay and lack of directorial vision. Even in it's present form, it still give us moments of emotional connect & it's a shame that they messed it up!!!
Rating: 1.5/5
Regards...Ben
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