Shaad Ali‘s latest directorial venture, Soorma, is based on the life of the hockey player, Sandeep Singh and stars Diljit Dosanjh in the titular role. The movie brings to life the rollercoaster of surprises and shocks that is Sandeep’s life journey. He reached heights he had never even dreamt of and the lows he could never fathom but came out a true champion. The first half of the film is focused on building a backdrop of Sandeep’s life in Punjab giving the viewers a glimpse of his childhood and the origin of his connection with hockey.
As a child, Sandeep aka Sunny is shown to be pushed into learning hockey under the guidance of a dictating coach with a, ‘my way or the highway’ attitude. He is quick to give up the pursuit of becoming a sportsman as a kid while his elder brother, Bikramjit essayed by Angad Bedi religiously sticks to the training with just one dream – to be on the Indian Hockey Team. Sandeep does go back to it years later but only because of love. He begins the journey of becoming a living legend and it is all thanks to his love interest in the film which is portrayed by the talented Taapsee Pannu. Taapsee also essays the role of a hockey player with the dream of making her nation proud. Even though she has a limited screen time that does not stop her from leaving an impression on the audience with her performance.
Before the interval, the movie brings out the struggles and hard work the protagonist puts into acing his skills on the hockey field. He is determined to be with the girl of his dreams and turns every weakness into his strength until he becomes ‘Flicker Singh’ for the world under the guidance of another coach, essayed by Vijay Raaz. Vijay pulls-off the role very well to his credit and has the audience thoroughly engaged during his screentime. Right before the second half, you see Sandeep suffer the unfateful incident, the one that changed his life forever as he was accidentally shot in the back.
The second half begins with a much-needed conflict in the screenplay graph as Sandeep goes from being at the top of his game to not being able to stand on his feet at all. As the film progresses you see how helpless the player feels leading to a whole world of complications in his life. Diljit truly shines through in the film, he is earnest and convincing and makes you feel every emotion that his character is going through. The way he balances the fragile and vulnerable sides of him with the amount of conviction in his eyes is truly commendable. Diljit feels like the perfect choice for this role. The second half also focuses on Bikramjeet’s character and his unwavering support for his younger brother. Angad does a good job of playing the protective elder brother who would stop at nothing to have his brother happy and standing on his feet.
Sandeep’s life events itself lend quite some interesting elements to the film, on the whole. But as a sports film, the over-all screenplay lacks a little bit of conflict. His love story sometimes over-powers his extraordinary life-story but it’s not a deal breaker. The cast has done a fabulous job of merging into their characters and keep the audiences hooked. Sandeep Singh’s life isn’t an ordinary one and Shaad Ali does a commendable job of bringing that out in Soorma.
I’d suggest you go watch, Soorma film for some gripping performances by the actors and to witness the unbelievable comeback story of India’s ‘Flicker Singh’.
Cast: Diljit Dosanjh, Taapsee Pannu, Angad Bedi, Vijay Raaz, Satish Kaushik
Director: Shaad Ali
Rating: 3.5/5