‘Torbaaz’ Movie Review: Sanjay Dutt’s story of war-torn refugee kids is a snooze-fest

Directed By
Girish Malik

Produced By
Raju Chadha, Rahul Mittra, Puneet Singh, Girish Malik

Cast
Sanjay Dutt, Nargis Fakhri, Rahul Dev, Gavie Chahal, Kuwaarjeet Chopraa, Humayoon Shams Khan, Rahul Mittra, Priyanka Verma, Vansh Sayani

Bollywood Bubble Rating
What’s It About
The film is about child suicide bombers in Afghanistan, who have been trained to believe that killing the enemy is a virtue and glory in the afterlife. Sanjay Dutt, as doctor-cum-life coach turns to help some kids in refugee camps get a life of their own away from the world of terrorism. Will he able to save the kids? Or will he end up messing it all up? Well, for that you’ll have to watch the movie.

What’s Hot
The locales at which ‘Torbaaz’ has been shot is exotic. Filled with shots all over suburban areas of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, it looks simply amazing. It’s probably the first time an Indian movie was shot in this part of the world, and that’s a great way to showcase Bollywood and get a new set of audience. The cinematography by Hiroo Keswani indeed plays a big part in making the film look oh-so-gorgeous.

BUT, great locales are no longer the thing audiences look out for nowadays, after all, it’s not the damn 1970s.

The story and writing by Girish Malik and Bharti Jakhar is the only other thing that’s notable in this film. The basic idea behind how much refugee kids are the first victims of terrorism and not the other way round is probably an idea that not many Indian believe in today’s times. Refugee kids in a Muslim-dominated nation are not always going to be looked with suspicion, but can also lead a normal life, and also have normal ambitions. Also, how a thing like sports (cricket in this one) can help little kids get away from the path of terrorism and get towards having a brighter future is a concept that people in today’s times should think of more.

What’s Not
Well, EVERYTHING else.

To begin with, the film had Sanjay Dutt. And yet it couldn’t get the proper whistles needed at his entry or anywhere else throughout the movie. He had the entire weight of the movie on his shoulder, however, somehow, his screenspace didn’t seem as much as it should have been there. He looked dapper sporting a great look but sadly, there was hardly much for him to do despite being the central character of the movie.

There was a lot of excitement to see Nargis Fakhri back onscreen after many years, but sadly, she’s just there in a blink-and-miss appearance. Pretty hard to notice her, and a role just about any supporting artiste could have done. Waiting even now for a big comeback from her on the big screen.

The little kids shown playing cricket in the movie, have some witty lines, but it seems so forced on them that you’re made to wonder why were these kids made to go through this at such a young age.

Rahul Dev starts off as a very impressive leader of a terrorist group. But sadly even he has been wasted as there are hardly scenes where he could show off his nasty character’s nasty side. Pretty soon, it seems he has turned more of a human than someone who’s always ready to incite terrorism in young kids’ minds.

I don’t even want to get into the music as they had hugely talented stars like Bickram Ghosh and Vikram Montrose. Yet, the opportunity was squandered. Not even one of the background songs is worth a mention, as they are totally forgettable.

The editing by Dilip Deo was lacklustre as there were numerous scenes in the middle which could have been easily chopped down. The 133-minute long feature could have been brought down easily to a 105-minute presentation had the editing been a bit crisper.

Well, the shoddy editing work also can be credited to the bad direction by Girish Malik. The screenplay seems to have been stretched unnecessarily and there have been numerous places where Girish, as a director, should have said ‘NO’ to Girish, the writer inside him.

Verdict
Despite a great plot and some fantastic locales and some superstars saying yes to the project, this will always remain a film that couldn’t just keep it all together. It’s a waster opportunity and could have been a film which Sanjay Dutt could have been proud of in his second innings at films. Sadly, it’s all squandered. Even if it’s on Netflix, it’s a totally AVOIDABLE film. I am going with 1 star just for the Sanjay Dutt-fan inside me and the exotic outdoors of Bishkek.

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Also Read: ‘Durgamati’ Movie Review: Bhumi Pednekar’s horror-thriller is no scare-fest

Prateek Sur

Born a Movie Buff, working as a Film Critique and enjoying life as a Bollywood Reporter.

Email: editor@bollywoodbubble.com Phone: +91 8355910465