“Pan
Singh Tomar” is an audacious winner from Ronnie Screwala about an ill-forgotten
hero from the 50s who becomes a runner of Indian Army pride, then national pride
and almost of Asiatic fame. Then he retires prematurely, becomes a farmer and in
a fit of family feud becomes a dacoit of dreaded proportions in Chambal Valley.
The script sizzles from the start as director Timangshu Dhulia reconstruc...ts from the
lesser-known pages of sports history, some memorable sequences in the runup to
being a runner first, dacoit next in the second half. He brings out the
authenticity of the era, the irony of the sportspersons (who don’t get to wear
spiked shoes mostly), the psychology behind achievement, the deception and the
treachery in games and later, dejection and resentment - when society discards
the man behind the medals. Pan Singh eventually turns from an excellent sprinter
who still had great civil potential into becoming one of criminal portents.
Even though the dialect is desi Hindi drawn from the hinterlands, the subtitles smoothen the viewing easily. The story moves at remarkable speed and every frame stands out for grandness of execution and class usually seen for top actors’ films. Irfan Khan gets a script that allows him to portray a wide range of emotions without missing ever, ever to make a point in his slurring, wry humored voice. His entry is grand and so is the exit in the end as he fights the police. There are many points in the film that make you whistle, clap, cry, laugh out and even stand up to give an ovation. It’s a rare cinematic experience to see a film so honest, well-scripted, entertaining and crafty enough to make you want to own a DVD asap.
Because the director fitted about 200-250 visually and audibly arresting shots into credible scenes and because of a narrative style that’s neither too filmy nor too documentary-like, you get an immersive experience that seems just a bit extended in the second half. I love the vision of Ronnie Screwala in encouraging bold cinema – cinema that’s rooted in lost fictions of history that brings out an aspect of a sportsperson that’s ironic – there’s a thin line between security and insecurity in a sportsperson’s life which the society never recognizes. Watching the movie in fourth week in a multiplex at midnight eve gave me joy to see full-house for a hero who deserves wider audience – Irfan Khan. Now that UTV Motion Pictures has sold off fully to Walt Disney, Ronnie should do what Walt Disney does in the US – get many characters like these out of the closet into the celluloid. Good cinema doesn't need advertisement, you get wind of it anyhow.
Even though the dialect is desi Hindi drawn from the hinterlands, the subtitles smoothen the viewing easily. The story moves at remarkable speed and every frame stands out for grandness of execution and class usually seen for top actors’ films. Irfan Khan gets a script that allows him to portray a wide range of emotions without missing ever, ever to make a point in his slurring, wry humored voice. His entry is grand and so is the exit in the end as he fights the police. There are many points in the film that make you whistle, clap, cry, laugh out and even stand up to give an ovation. It’s a rare cinematic experience to see a film so honest, well-scripted, entertaining and crafty enough to make you want to own a DVD asap.
Because the director fitted about 200-250 visually and audibly arresting shots into credible scenes and because of a narrative style that’s neither too filmy nor too documentary-like, you get an immersive experience that seems just a bit extended in the second half. I love the vision of Ronnie Screwala in encouraging bold cinema – cinema that’s rooted in lost fictions of history that brings out an aspect of a sportsperson that’s ironic – there’s a thin line between security and insecurity in a sportsperson’s life which the society never recognizes. Watching the movie in fourth week in a multiplex at midnight eve gave me joy to see full-house for a hero who deserves wider audience – Irfan Khan. Now that UTV Motion Pictures has sold off fully to Walt Disney, Ronnie should do what Walt Disney does in the US – get many characters like these out of the closet into the celluloid. Good cinema doesn't need advertisement, you get wind of it anyhow.
