Shaurya comes across as a honest attempt and the director needs to be commended for maintaining an engrossing storyline for the viewer.
The plot and story has distinct overtones of ’A Few Good Men’ and at some point I was actually waiting for the histronics between Bose and KK Menon, (explosive in the english original) to take off, which sadly really did not come off as anticipated.
Although the Director has attempted in earnestness to veer away from making it into a carbon copy of the english version by adding some relevant changes to the story and script, one feels that some more detailing and clarity in the final product could have made the film even better. There are some loose ends which remained foggy such as:
If the shot officer was in that mode of behaviour since many years, why was it not picked up by captain Javed or for that matter any other senior/junior officer earlier? Why did the witnessing officer need to kill himself now after so many years of atrocities being committed?
How did the journalist come to establish that special romantic connection with the major all of a sudden despite telling him off so explicitly in the first instance? Was it just that narration of "looking down the khayee" by the major which made him vulnerable and thus suddenly attractive?
The journalist’s arrest came across as unclear and even if the same was validated, could not the major(being adept at law) get legal recourse for her immediately? What happens to her eventually?(Not known)
Apart from these and perhaps a few additonal oddities like the unnecessary item number in the beginning, the film still scores on many other points particulary the scene showing the brigadier’s reasons for doing whatever he has done(a well enacted scene) plus the other touching scene of the midnight marriage arrangement for the dear friend.
The cast have performed their roles admirably but one feels that a little more depth could have been given to Rahul Bose’s character. Javed Jafri is slowly coming of maturity and age as far as serious cinema is concerned. KK’s acting only re-endorses what a good actor he is even in such a small role and Minisha Lamba shows us that she is capable of delivering far, far more given a good script and story. She has, however, done exceediingly well in her role. One looks forward to seeing more of her in the near future. The music is almost forgettable as there is no recall of it after the movie ends.
The director does need commendation for bringing to the fore the persistent and rather troubling issue of baseless hate crimes being done by officers in uniform committed with the objective of validating personal or religious beliefs. Movies such as these certainly help in bringing such serious issues into the public limelight and direct the focus on those in the governing bodies and corridors of power as well as give exposure to the public who deserve to know the realities of these happenings in India as well as the world(which is evident almost daily to all of us).
So, in the final analysis the film is rated Good or better still, to use a word of the film "NICE"