Sarzameen review: Ibrahim Ali Khan spared solo lifting in dull and forgettable Karan Johar production

Colonel Vijay Menon (Prithiviraj Sukumaran), brought up on tough love from his own father, pays it forward to Harman (Ibrahim Ali Khan), leading Meher (Kajol) to constantly mediate between the two. The boy’s kidnapping, staying missing, and returning after a long gap, now a strapping young man, raises questions: is he who he says he is, or is there something sinister going on?

Unpacking this puzzle properly could have led to some depth. But the weak writing-and-execution renders it frustratingly flat. It has no business being so. Prithviraj is capable of ratcheting emotion, as is Kajol. And Ibrahim, playing a boy cruelly bullied for an impairment who grows into a young man on the opposite side of the loyalty divide, doesn’t have to do any solo lifting, unlike in his disastrous debut Nadaaniyan.

Sarzameen movie trailer:

We get stunning snow-clad locations in Kashmir, and the mission is to keep the ‘sarzameen’ safe. But even the big reveal in the end comes off woolly. There is your kohl eyed baddie from ‘sarhad ke uss paar’: KC Shankar can be impactful, but here he is turned into a stereotyped villain, helped by his bearded acolyte (Mihir Ahuja). There is your torture-in-the-cells, bazooka-toting terrorists, and brave Indian soldiers, including a faithful aide de camp (Jitendra Joshi) milling about the mountain-side. There’s a senior officer (Boman Irani) stomping about, shooting orders.

And finally, there’s the father and son, locked in a face-off, and it is all very dull and forgettable.

Sarzameen movie cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Kajol, Ibrahim Ali Khan, Mihir Ahuja, K C Shankar, Jitendra Joshi, Boman Irani
Sarzameen movie director: Kayoze Irani
Sarzameen movie rating: 1.5 stars