Paan Singh Tomar tries very hard to be in the same league as Omkara and Bandit Queen. It gets close but not close enough. It just seems trying too hard to be another omkara and misses its own self. Though it has a very gripping and interesting story with a Very powerful performance by Irrfan Khan and pretty neat screenplay, but it still left a lot more to be desired (atleast by me). Though on paper it's a very moving story but I didn't feel moved for PST and it felt much longer than its 2 hours 15 minutes length. A Good Watch nonetheless, but not as great as the feedback you might have got. (Or may be it's just because I had very high expectations). A bit more emotional, A bit less stretchy in the middle and it could have been my choice for this year's Oscars entry from India but that wasn't the case.
Paan Singh Tomar is the story of.. well.. Paan Singh Tomar an Armyman, who participated for India in Asian Games Steeple Chase event. Returned to his village after retiring from the army and 'circumstances' forced him to turn into a Dacoit (Or Bhaghi as he calls it). Though the movie on paper is very moving and you want to feel for PST, but while on screen you don't seem to feel his pain. May be that's the way the director envisioned the lead character. May be he thought of him as not very emotional, someone who did not have any emotional connect with neither the sport he played or his family and Irrfan played the character in the same way as well. Very to the point, straightforward and when you come across so un-emotional, it's hard to feel for such a character. He seems forced to become a dacoit, but the circumstances don't seem to move you a lot. His Family members are dying, He is struggling in between the red tape of bureaucracy and police-gangster nexus but still you don't feel his pain. Atleast I didn't. There were hardly any emotional moments which could justify his turning into a dacoit. Or may be I expected the portrayal to be a bit more filmy. May be he turned into one, for the money and not because of circumstances as much. May be he wasn't the hero he was portrayed as. May be he was just an athlete who got drawn into it and was not forced into. Who Knows the true story, but I atleast didn't feel the character suffers as much to be pushed into it.
I am not saying that Irrfan has not done justice to the character. He is absolutely brilliant and may end up winning an award or two as well, but my problem was more with the director than the actor. Also, i felt there was a bit more Irrfan in PST than PST in Irrfan. It's like Irrfan portraying PST on screen rather than him 'being' PST. He is one of the best actors in India and I just expected less of his 'Kaa bhaiya' and be more character-ish. Not to take away anything from his performance though. He is the King of the movie and all others go un-noticed. You hardly seem to remember anybody else. This is where it is not in the same league as Omkara. Coz though Omkara has the pivotal role in the plot, you seem to remember all others as well. But in PST, there is no one, you can remember apart from PST. But may be that's the way it is supposed to be, a biopic about him only and not about anyone else.
I know that Tigmanshu Dhulia is considered one of the finest of our generation but I still feel he could have done much better in this. He could have shown the emotional side of PST and dealt more with the circumstances that lead him to become a dacoit rather than concentrated more on the humour or his sportsmanly credentials. Also, the movie in the end is shown as a dedication to the lesser known sports persons but i don't know. For me, it just wasn't emotional enough. For me, Chak De was much more emotional than this. Lagaan was as emotional a sports movie can be or has been in bollywood. PST was just not there in the same league.
Overall : A pretty good plot with a phenomenal performance by Irrfan Khan. Recommended to Watch. But don't expect the kick-assiness you might have heard of about the movie.
Feel-O-Meter : 6/10