Paan Singh Tomar

Director – Tigmanshu Dhulia

Music – Abhishek Ray

Cast – Irrfan Khan, Mahie Gill, Vipin Sharma, Rajendra Gupta, and Zakir Hussain.

‘All things truly wicked start from innocence’        

          Ernest Hemingway

          Tigmanshu Dhulia’s most ambitious project hit the screens after facing several distribution hurdles. The film is based on the real life story of the athlete turned dacoit Paan Singh Tomar. The film is a dedication to forgotten Indian sportsmen.

          The film begins with Paan Singh Tomar’s (Irrfan Khan’s) initial days as a recruit in the Indian Army. Major Masand (Vipin Sharma) spots Tomar’s ability to sprint and recommends him to the Army Athletics team. He is trained by Coach Randhawa (Rajendra Gupta) whose persuasion makes him a part of the steeplechase event. Tomar goes on to win medals and break records at the national as well as international level.

In 1965 he is not allowed to go to the front as athletes are considered to be a ‘National Treasure’. He makes up for this loss (by winning the gold medal) at the International Defence Meet in 1967. He takes a premature retirement and returns to the Chambal. Family feud and non cooperation from government officials angers Tomar. He is forced to take up arms to fight for his rights. His journey as a dacoit to his ultimate downfall forms the rest of the story.

Irrfan Khan is brilliant in his performance of Paan Singh Tomar. He has studied the character closely and is extremely comfortable with the dialect of Bundelkhand. He can make you laugh and cry at the same point of time. Mahie Gill has a very small role as Tomar’s wife and she doesn’t do justice to the character of an uneducated village girl. However the chemistry between the pair is clearly visible on screen. Vipin Sharma and Rajendra Gupta provide valuable support.  Zakir Hussain reprises his role of a tough cop; similar to the one in Not a Love Story.

Tigmanshu Dhulia has retained his charm as the director. He has managed to make a film better than his previous work ‘Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster’ – a phenomenon rarely seen nowadays. The script sticks to the plot and never diverts from it. However you might not understand a few dialogues if you lack fluency in Hindi (it is advisable to see it with subtitles). You’ll love the valley of Chambal due to the excellent cinematography. Dheerendra Dwivedi gets full marks as an art designer for recreating the 1950’s and 1980’s on screen. Music, though average, gets you into the groove for certain scenes and makes them absolutely realistic. Editing is good beyond doubt. Baring a few exceptions the film is technically sound.

I’m going with four out five stars for Paan Singh Tomar. It’s a one of a kind biopic which should be preserved for future reference.