Torbaaz review: The noblest intentions can't mask the mess of Sanjay Dutt's sports-political-war hybrid | Bollywood Life

It’s been ages since Sanjay Dutt has delivered a half-decent film either critically or commercially or both. His last hits were Agneepath and Son of Sardaar back in 2012 (unless you consider his cameo in PK, and that, too, happened back in 2014), of which only the former had met with some critical acclaim. And it looks like the wait is only going to drag out longer with Netflix’s new movie, Torbaaz, which itself had been stuck in limbo for a couple of years. Well, it wouldn’t have mattered much if the film has met its date in the theatres as the end result would have found very few takers within the audience or critics. Also Read – Sanjay Dutt’s daughter Trishala Dutt pens an emotional note on father’s past drug addiction; says, ‘Nothing to be ashamed about’

Scroll down for my full Torbaaz review… Also Read – Sanjay Dutt flaunts his new platinum blonde hairdo after beating cancer

What’s it about

Military doctor Naseer Khan (Sanjay Dutt) returns to Afghanistan five years after his wife and child had died in a suicide bombing. As he tries to cope with his trauma and come to terms with the volatile and violent geo-political surroundings responsibly for his personal tragedy, a ray of purpose reappears in his life in the form of coaching cricket and giving new meaning to the kids at a refugee camp that had been initiated by his deceased beloved. Also Read – Sanjay Dutt shows his scar after treatment; says, ‘will be out of cancer soon’ — watch video

What’s hot

The opening narrative strap you in for a gritty drama mixed with human emotions and the shots are excellently framed to juxtapose both the beauty and mortality of Afghanistan against each other. In fact, Hiroo Keswani’s camerawork is consistently magnificent throughout, which makes it all the more sour when the initial promise fizzles out into a film that get progressively messier. Sanjay Dutt still looks dashing and evokes poignancy ar several key moments and Rahul Dev rises miles above his sketchy characterisation, but try as they may, both cannot save a drowning vessel.

What’s not

The screenplay is so jumbled that the narrative keep hopping (not shifting) between random scenes, leaving several of them dangling in thin air. At one point, it feels like writer-Director Girish Malik (Bharti Jakhar is the co-writer) simply may have assemble his cast on the sets over different days and simply strong together whatever arbitrary shots sprung in his mind. The narrative becomes so cluttered after the halfway mark that you feel like you’ve been dropped in the warzone yourself, simply awaiting your fate. Dilip Deo forgetting to edit and Nargis Fakhri still learning to act add to the woes.

BL Verdict

All the noble intentions in the world cannot save Sanjay Dutt’s Torbaaz from being messier than a waddling baby trying to do the garba. I’m going with 1 out of 5 stars.

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