Majorthebys
Charming and brutal
Dynamixor
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Aneesa Wardle
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Cheryl
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
pratyush-03848
India typically focuses on cricket as we see it as a religion, but times have changed. Other sports in the past were not given much attention, such as steeplechase running in this case. This is the story of one of the best steeplechase runners in India who became a dacoit due to circumstances in his life. Paan Singh Tomar is an army officer who joins the athletics division as his performance wows his army seniors. Soon he becomes a steeplechase runner for India and achieves national stardom. Soon he is involved in a dispute in his village which eventually leads him to become a dacoit. Tomar went from a national level athlete to a dacoit. His transition and his life as a dacoit form the rest of the story. Tigmanshu Dhulia directs, in my opinion, a soon to be cult classic that tells the true story of one of India's forgotten athletes. The story is well written and as a result, the acting is flawless. Irrfan Khan is exceptional as Paan Singh Tomar as he plays the performance with ease. His transition from an army officer to an athlete to a dacoit make it all believable. As a result of his acting, he won the National Award for Best Actor for films released in 2012. In the end of the day, I truly recommend this movie to film goers out there, whether you like sports or not. It is a film no one should skip out on.
vishaal811
A Biopic is not the most interesting genre of film. However, Bollywood has made two memorable biopics in the past few years. Paan Singh Tomar is based on the life of a national steeplechase champion who did not get the recognition that he deserved and eventually became a dacoit in order to have his name printed in newspapers.Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, which was based on the life of Milkha Singh, has borrowed some elements from this magnificent movie which has managed to restore my faith in this genre. Paan Singh Tomar is played by Irrfan Khan who gives a career-best performance which is quite impressive considering the number of notable movies he has made. He plays the character in a nuanced manner that incorporates the unique dialect from his native place in Madhya Pradesh. The dedication to his role is palpable as he transforms himself, both physically and mentally, to play someone who has a lot of anger inside him due to the apathy of the Army and the Indian Media for not giving him his due recognition.Paan Singh Tomar epitomizes the struggle of athletes in India to gain recognition despite endless hard work and complete apathy from the government. There are a lot of changes that must be implemented to ensure that these athletes get proper training and diet to give their best performance.This movie is one of the finest to have come out from Bollywood. The producers must be given credit to back such a film in which the protagonist was largely unknown to the masses. The film accurately depicts the lifestyle in villages and the authenticity is further escalated by the unique dialect that all the characters use. Watch Irrfan Khan give one of the most memorable performance by an Indian actor.
Kaushal Kaur
The Story is about a Daku(Dacoit)(Irfan) who was actually a soldier who fought for his country and could give it all for his country who then became a runner and wins gold medal at the Indian national games, but is forced to become a Dacoit after being neglected and insulted by the Police,and his mission is to rebel and defy the police department.One hell of a power-packed performance by Irrfan. He carries the entire film on his shoulder.The scenes of the army are well handled, there are some funny moments as well.The regional language used in the film all the time makes the film much more compelling.Memmorable dialogues especially "Kaho Haan" are just the perfect ingredients for a movie !
Vimal Shukla
Great tight script, great acting, and great direction.All the actors have done a great job but Irfan is just magnificent- he is turning up as the next Nasruddin Shah.Needless to say Irrfan Khan has delivered superlative performance. He has defined what is called as an 'Effortless Performance'. Brilliant, in fact, no words ! The simplicity shown by director in this movie is worth to be watched. This movie deserves to be in Oscar nominations I would say.The Director does a decent job in making this film into one of the sensible movies made in bollywood, and good job from him for giving Irfan a perfect role in the movie.Overall perfect movie !