Review of Paan Singh Tomar (2012) by Adit Y — 14 Mar 2012

Paan Singh Tomar review: An Irrfantastic watch!!!

Paan Singh Tomar on being termed a dacoit by a nervous journo, 'Beehad main baghi hote hain, dacoit milte hain parliament mein". The moment I heard the above dialogue in the trailers, I knew Paan Singh Tomar will definitely strike a chord with the audience, given the clouds of corruption shrouding the Indian landscape. In fact, PST is more than your usual story of a common man standing up against the system. The flick on the whole showcases the travails and twists and turns in the life of the notorious outlaw, Paan Singh Tomar who from ruling the roost in the Indian athletic scene goes onto become a feared Chambal Valley dacoit .The famed Dhulia Irrfan duo, from its "Haasil" days is known to deliver some cinematic masterpieces and boy do they take it another level with Paan Singh Tomar.

Irrfan has been Bollywood's torch bearer of sorts in Hollywood in recent times and with his turn as the famed but now forgotten dacoit, Paan Singh Tomar, he has just proved why he is one step ahead of his contemporaries. In PST he effortlessly adorns the gear of a frail athlete who to begin with, gets on the race track just for that extra dose of food. The first half shows PST's rise to an all-conquering athlete who can do no wrong as he represents India in the Asian games in Tokyo as the Steeple chase national champion. We see an inspiring sequence of events as Tomar rises to the pinnacle of success from his humble beginnings in the dusty terrains of Morena. Coupled with rib tickling dialogues and the well-orchestrated track and field scenes, the first half of Paan Singh Tomar makes you sit up and take notice of a talent that once scorched the Indian athletic scene. Smartly edited and mixed with the right amount of emotions and humour, the first half whizzes away just like a whiff of pleasant air.

Then in a dramatic turn of events Tomar has to leave the glory of the track behind and return to his native place as his pestering cousins get him involved in a feud over a small piece of land. Shunned and ridiculed by the local police and at the nadir of his life, Tomar decides to take law in his own hands as his cousins launch a vehement attack on his family owing to the feud mentioned earlier. Dhulia effectively puts forth and underlines the failure of the state to not only maintain law and order but also the plight of sportspersons who are treated like specks of dirt in this country . PST's tumultuous transition from a proud army man who once considered a brick of ice cream as his greatest honour into a revenge seeking and conniving outlaw is complete as he utters" No one gave a damn about me when I won medals for the country. Today when I'm a baaghi (rebel) everyone wants to know about Paan Singh Tomar" with a sense of irony and sums up the apathy of a person who has been failed by the very system that he trusted and cherished .In subsequent scenes, true to the celebrated and legendary robin hood style he becomes the bête noire of the rich whilst being celebrated by the poor, by not only escaping the clutches of law every now and then but also by making mockery of the police and ridiculing them into meek surrender. Not only does he gain revenge on his cousins but he also achieves a cult status of a dacoit at the top his trade, meticulously deploying his military training and techniques (an eg being the famed "scout formation") and in the process instilling discipline in his pack as the world falls to his feet.

What prevents the film from reaching insurmountable dizzying heights , is that the flick tends to drag a bit towards the end and is a bit too lengthy as it reaches its climax. There are moments in the second "revenge" half where one yearns for the slickness and the pace of the first half.

Otherwise Irrfan delivers a rock solid and one of the best performances by an actor is recent times. His honest and heartfelt performance as Paan Singh, both the athlete and the renegade, combined with his command over the local dialect and his rustic demeanour is really commendable as he portrays a challenging role with aplomb and is well truly the high point and USP of the film. Mahie Gill, Dhulia's muse these days, has a small role but she excels in it, true to her burgeoning reputation .The rest of the cast blend perfectly into the demands and vision of the director to firmly put a stamp of veracity and class on this masterpiece of a movie. Paan Singh Tomar to sum up isn't one of your run of the mill biographies flooding the "biography" genre these days, but a fitting tribute to a common man who stood firm against all odds to uphold the pride of his country and ultimately his family.