Paan Singh Tomar Hindi Film Review

'Paan Singh Tomar';
Star cast: Irrfan Khan, Mahie Gill;
Directed by: Tigmanshu Dhulia;


 

Some movies are meant to run that extra mile to go beyond being a mere cinematic experience. As we see names of real-life athletes who died unsung flash across the screen at the end of 'Paan Singh Tomar' we realize what we've just witnessed in the past 190 minutes of taut playing-time is not just movie. It's a treatise on what destiny has in store for people who do not conform to socially-acceptable definitions of success.

Definitely Irrfan Khan as Paan Singh Tomar personifies that criminal neglect of all athletes in our country barring cricketers who, as we all know by now, are grossly overvalued sportsperson.

Tomar was a steeplechase runner. Not that it made any difference to his destiny. In the army for the long innings Tomar, we are told, took voluntary retirement to look after his family and land in his native village.

This is where Dhulia's fascinating screenplay, where not a moment is squandered in self-indulgent editing, gets truly amazing. Abandoning the manageable hurdles of the steeplechase Tomar took to the gun to avenge the wrong done to his family.

The two lives of Paan Singh Tomar, in the army as a celebrated sportsperson and as an outlaw on the run in the Chambal valley (not on a horse, please!) are brought together in a stirring blend of the brilliant and the haunting.

While Dhulia's previous works suffered for the lack of a suitable budget 'Paan Singh Tomar' is technically a polished piece of cinema with the editing (Aarti Bajaj) and background score (Sandeep Chowta) adding a dimension beyond the drama of the driven athlete.

The movie is shot by cinematographer Aseem Mishra with an intriguing blend of a bleeding authenticity and a poetic resplendence. Indeed, Tigmanshu Dhulia's training as a racounteur of a tale of social injustice and damnifying outlawry, harks back to the director's association with Shekhar Kapoor's 'Bandit Queen'.

In portraying Paan Singh's leap from celebrated athlete to wanted bandit, Dhulia avoids the ostentatious brutality of the circumstances that made Phoolan Devi a social outcast. 'Paan Singh Tomar' has very little on-screen bloodshed. It's the heart that bleeds profusely and invisibly in almost every frame.

The unspoken question, why do we treat our athletes so shabbily, trails the narrative, as does the other larger question of social discrimination and the subversion of law.

Unlike other movies with a strong social message 'Paan Singh Tomar' never stops being a truly liberating cinematic experience. Of course much of the credit for the film's sledgehammer effect goes to Irrfan Khan's central performance. As Paan Singh, Irrfan is perfect. There is not a single shot in the movie that he gets wrong. He follows his character's destiny with an intuitive alertness that leaves no room for ambiguity in the interpretation of the character's complex life. And it's not just about getting the character's spoken language and body language right. Irrfan goes way beyond.

The dialogues are really cool. Comments on subordination and oppression are often laced in laughter.

The beauty of watching Irrfan transform into Tomar is the seamless leap the actor takes into the character. Irrfan is blessed with first-rate supporting actors, many of whom we haven't seen much on screen before. They add to the film's high level of authenticity by just not looking like and speaking their lines like actors.

Paan Singh Tomar is an excellent edge-of-the-seat entertainer. The synthesis of two genres-the sports film and the dacoit drama-is done with such confident ingenuity that we hardly realize when one ends, the other begins.

Overall, it is worthy to watch once.