Sarbjit reimagines the plight of a Punjab farmer who, in 1990, strayed across the border in an inebriated state only to be mistaken for a terrorist and thrown into a Pakistani jail from which he never got out. Sarbjit could be lauded for attempting to tell an important story, the methods that they employ for the purpose are utterly out of place. Omung Kumar’s Sarbjit is a film trapped in no man’s land. Based on a newsy real-life story, it takes cavalier liberties with reality.
The result is a disappointment of monumental proportions. Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan is woefully miscast as the dogged sister of the titular character.Aishwarya as Dalbir Kaur, a gutsy woman who put everything at stake in the fight for the release of her brother from a Pakistani jail, neither looks nor sounds like a true-blue sardarni.
Randeep Hooda is an exceptionally gifted actor and has clearly put in a lot of effort to get into the skin of the characterThe movie is one of the best I have seen in my life of over six decades. It not only portrays the human tragedy that befell Sarabjit and his family, but also makes you think that Governments of India and Pakistan must review cases of all those languishing in jails.