Rating: 2/5
A feel-good family drama, Sardar Ka Grandson on Netflix, fails to engage viewers with its underutilised star cast and a monotonous cross-border plot. The movie falls short to maintain an emotional connection even after having a potentially good story.
Story
Sardar ka Grandson follows Amreek (Arjun Kapoor), who runs a movers and packers company in Los Angeles with his fiancé, Radha (Rakul Preet). The couple part ways over an argument, and Amreek leaves for Amritsar to be with his grandmother, Sardar (Neena Gupta), in her final days.
Sardar wants to visit her home in Lahore and asks Amreek to fulfil her last wish. He agrees to take her, but her visa gets denied due to her being blacklisted by Pakistan authorities. The grandson decides to go to Lahore on his own and literally bring the ancestral home back to India.
He reaches the old house just when it is about to demolish and gets arrested for stopping the act. The police understand his motive and release him on bail. Amreek then turns to the Mayor for permission to transport the house.
The Mayor (Kumud Mishra) denies permission due to unresolved conflict with Sardar in the past. He gives orders to destroy the house, but Radha surprisingly manages to come to Amreek’s rescue and saves it. The Mayor permits them under the media’s pressure but with some conditions.
He tries to obstruct their attempts to relocate the house, but they successfully transport it with the help of natives and the police. Amreek informs about the shifted house to his grandmother in time before she loses consciousness. Sardar revisits her youth on entering the ancestral house.
Performances
Neena Gupta playing the role of a Punjabi grandmother as Sardar is the highlight of the entire film. Variations in her expressions and naturalistic dialogue delivery weren’t even slightly affected by the prosthetic. Her’s is the only character that manages to win hearts because of her versatile performance.
Arjun Kapoor plays the role of the grandson Amreek who is clumsy and careless. Kapoor’s performance fails to impress on account of his resting face and dull expressions. His acting skills fall short of enacting over the top emotional scenes.
Kanwaljit Singh and Soni Razdan play the role of Amreek’s parents, and Rakul Preet plays his girlfriend, Radha. All three supporting roles didn’t have much part in the movie to bring out their characters. Kumud Mishra brilliantly plays the role of a nasty Mayor but is also underutilised.
The cameo appearance of John Abraham and Aditi Rao Hydari as young Gursher Singh and Sardar Kaur is worthy of attention. But their discomfort in delivering the dialogues is noticeable due to the constant shift from Punjabi to Hindi.
Positives
Sardar Ka Grandson is a heart-warming story. It brings out a fresh concept that has never been introduced or addressed in Bollywood before. Shifting the house literally across the border is an out of the box idea.
The first half of the movie is promising when all the characters are introduced, and the plot progresses to the main conflict. Amreek’s relationship with his grandmother is relatable and full of warmth. The film ends on a happy note as the emotional Sardar relives her past.
Negatives
Sardar Ka Grandson fails to deliver an exciting concept due to the story’s slow progress. The second half of the movie is stretched for nothing and seems boring after a point.
The dialogues lack creativity and cease to make a powerful impact. Arjun Kapoor’s thoughts and feelings are said out loud to force emotions on the audience, but still fail to build a connection.
The movie falls flat with illogical and unnecessary scenes that are repetitive and shift from the premise. Sardar Ka Grandson wastes the majority of its talented star cast playing unimportant supporting roles.
The cross-border part of the movie lacks newness and has been used in various Bollywood movies before. None of the characters are well-structured, and the music also doesn’t catch attention.
Worth It?
Sardar Ka Grandson is a light-hearted family drama with rare and badly timed comic scenes. The movie is far away from presenting the premise as expected.
Except for the first 30 minutes and the last 10 minutes, the film is barely worth watching.
Also Read: Cinema Bandi review: Heartwarming slice of life comedy