Movie Review: Good attempt, but stopped short of being great, Arshad Warsi and Mehar Vij’s ‘Banda Singh Choudhary’

Director Abhishek Saxena, who has shown the issue of sanitary pads and body shaming in films like ‘Phullo Aur Saroj Ka Rishta’, has this time brought the story of unsung heroes through ‘Banda Singh Chaudhary’. Abhishek Saxena, who came up with an inspirational concept, may have had good intentions, but he/she failed due to a weak screenplay.

Story of ‘Banda Singh Chaudhary’

The story is set in 1975 Punjab. Where Banda Singh Chaudhary (Arshad Warsi) falls in love with a Sikh girl Lalli (Meher Vij) and both of them get married and live a happy life after the birth of a daughter. Banda’s ancestors came to Punjab four generations ago. Then they stayed here and now there is a tradition of Sanjha Chulha in the village, where Hindu Banda Singh Chaudhary lives together with his/her Sardar friend (Jivesh Walia) and his/her family. But a storm comes in their happy life that day, when terrorists enter Punjab to take revenge of Bangladesh from West Pakistan after the India-Pakistan war of 1971.

A period of terror begins in the village. The extremists announce that Hindus will have to leave Punjab and those Sikh families who have any kind of relationship with Hindus will be killed. Banda Singh Choudhary’s dearest friend becomes the victim of this extremism. By spreading the poison of religious politics among the youth, violence is incited in the entire Punjab, but in these difficult circumstances, the man does not leave his/her village (village) and prepares to face the extremists. Can the guy win in this battle of extremism? To know this you will have to watch the film.

Trailer of ‘Banda Singh Chaudhary’

‘Banda Singh Chaudhary’ Movie Review

Director Abhishek Saxena has brought the story of the unsung heroes of Punjab, who risked their lives to protect their community and its people. As exciting as the story sounds, its execution on screen is equally weak. The film is very slow, in which enthusiasm and thrill are clearly lacking. The director has not been able to show subjects like religious fanaticism and terrorism in a broad perspective.

The story fails to expose the separatist forces and extremist conspiracies. Yes, Simarjeet Suman’s cinematography has power. Sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Anand Bhaskar, the song ‘Sun Bandeya’ does justice to the story and situation. The climax becomes predictable.

Talking about acting, Arshad Warsi shows his/her full strength in the role of Banda. Mehar Vij in the role of his/her brave wife Lalli also lives her character convincingly. The chemistry of both is strong on screen. Jeeveshu Ahluwalia in the role of Banda’s best friend creates moments of laughter and fun, but Shilpi Marwah remains memorable in the character of his/her wife. The supporting cast does justice to their characters.

Why watch- Lovers of inspirational stories and fans of Arshad Warsi can watch this film.