Sooraj
Pancholi,
nostrils
flaring
and
eyes
twitching,
tries
to
sell
his
character’s
steely
resolve,
but,
sighs
Mayur
Sanap,
the
boy
just
can’t
act.
Very
early
in
Kesari
Veer
I
figured
that
I
was
in
for
an
ordeal.
It
begins
with
an
elaborate
introduction
sequence
that
depicts
a
cliché
trope
of
the
hero’s
saviour
complex.
A
group
of
helpless
women
is
caught
by
lusty
men.
Clutched
by
chains,
these
women
are
crying
and
begging
for
help,
and
just
as
one
of
them
is
subjected
to
assault,
the
hero
emerges,
fights
in
slow
motion,
and
saves
the
day.
Sooraj
Pancholi
gets
this
stylised
entry
shot,
a
Rajput
prince
who
doubles
up
as
a
dharma
rakshak.
And
the
barbaric
men
whom
he
has
just
decapitated
are
Muslim
invaders
hell-bent
on
razing
Hindus
to
the
ground.
You
get
the
drill,
this
is
that
kind
of
film.
On
the
surface,
Kesari
Veer
is
a
tribute
to
the
martyrdom
of
Hamirji
Gohil,
a
Rajput
warrior
who
fought
Muslim
invaders
to
protect
the
Somnath
temple
from
destruction.
But
as
expected,
what
we
have
is
a
high-pitched
action
spectacle
masquerading
as
homage,
much
like
what
we
saw
in
Chhaava.
Unlike
the
Vicky
Kaushal
starrer,
which
had
a
few
redeemable
qualities,
Kesari
Veer
is
a
tardy
mixture
of
limp
film-making
and
laughably
bad
performances
that
serves
only
unrelenting
chest-thumping.
Right
from
the
beginning,
everything
seems
off.
And
after
that
atrocious
opening
stretch,
it’s
only
downhill
for
the
plot
that
takes
us
through
the
gibberish
of
yeh
log
and
hum
log.
Everything
in
this
film
is
written
with
the
sole
objective
of
latching
on
nationalistic
fervour,
and,
as
a
result,
there’s
no
subtlety
in
the
way
it
tries
to
push
your
buttons.
Be
it
Vivek
Oberoi’s
banal
evil
Zafar
Khan
strutting
around
and
butchering
people
to
show
his
vileness
or
Suniel
Shetty’s
saffron
flag-holding
Shiv
bhakt
who
delivers
a
loud
war
cry,
it
all
adds
to
a
singularly
uninspired
film.
If
the
idea
was
to
make
a
sprawling
epic
then
Director
Price
Dhiman
fails
even
there,
with
its
seen-it-all-before
repetition.
To
rescue
myself
from
boredom,
I
enjoyed
this
little
‘spot
the
movie’
game.
A
massive,
VFX-laden
waterfall
appearing
in
the
background?
Oh,
that’s
Baahubali.
A
lovestruck
moment
in
the
middle
of
a
fight?
That’s
again,
Baahubali.
A
sorrowful
wife
seeing
off
her
husband
for
war?
That’s
Padmaavat.
A
few
good
men
fighting
until
their
last
breath?
Ah,
Kesari!
What
I
found
myself
wrapping
my
head
around
was
Akanksha
Sharma’s
character,
a
warrioress
who
is
supposedly
living
in
the
14th
century.
With
her
impeccable,
salon-styled
hair
and
pristine
designer
lehengas,
she
looked
ready
for
a
Navratri
celebration
rather
than
actual
warfare.
Sooraj
Pancholi
doesn’t
know
any
better
either.
Nostrils
flaring
and
eyes
twitching,
he
tries
to
sell
his
character’s
steely
resolve,
but,
the
boy
just
can’t
act.
At
one
point
in
the
film,
Vivek
Oberoi
disdainfully
declares,
‘Bacchon
ka
khel
khatam
ho
jaaye
toh
hame
jaga
dena.’
I
felt
validated.
That’s
exactly
what
I
wanted
to
say
to
this
film.
Kesari
Veer
Review
Rediff
Rating:
