Torbaaz is an Indian Hindi action sports drama film directed by Girish Malik. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Nargis Fakhri, and Rahul Dev in prominent roles. It was released on 11th December 2020 on Netflix.
The former army doctor Nasser Khan (Sanjay Dutt) returns to Afghanistan from India, where the shadow of terrorism is so deep that figures of people dying every day are on people's tongues. This time the targets of the terrorists are especially small children, who are being used as human suicide bombs for destruction. Nasser has too lost his family along with his wife in a bomb blast in Afghanistan. He joins an NGO here, started by Ayesha (Nargis Fakhri).
This NGO works for the betterment of the Refugee Camps and the children living there. The life of the children living in the camp makes Nasser restless and wants to get them out of that hellhole. He does not want a child to be forced into becoming a suicide bomb or to go through terrorism. Nasser uses cricket to give children a goal and hope in life. He forms a team with the children of that Refugee Camp and names it 'Torbaaz'. But will it be an easy task for Nasir to remove guns from the hands of children and give them hope?
Written by Girish Malik and Bharti Jakhar, the film Torbaaz is a story of hope, hope of a happy life, of humanity, of fulfilling dreams, of a better tomorrow. The theme of this film revolves around terrorist activities happening in Afghanistan. But it's the direction that kills all the fun. When the Afghanistan team suddenly emerged in the cricket world, the whole world was surprised. Today they are also a member of ICC. But this journey would not have been easy for the players of this country who have been battling terrorism for years. Through his film, the director allows getting a glimpse of the lives of the children living in the Refugee Camps.
The theme of the film and the intention behind it is optimistic and positive. It is also interesting to bring together fascism and cricket. But it's hard to say that you'll enjoy this film, as the soul and depth is what it lacks. What makes 'Torbaaz' at least watchable for two hours are its child actors and their confident and entertaining performances but their characters could have been more vivid if they could have shown their backstory and their losses.
Torbaaz has a touching story at it's core that shows the mood of people battling fanatics and children living in refugee camps. How do children are brainwashed by terrorists, what effect does it have on them and their family. All of this is shown in the film. But the script written by Girish Malik is quite weak and fails to engage. The director's take is also not impressive in handling this sensitive story and concept. Length is also a big reason for this. The initial one hour of filming only takes the story to establish and moves extremely slowly delivers long scenes and you might find yourself yawning in the middle of it. At the same time, the story picks up in the second half for sure, but in the Climax, it scatters again delivering a weak ending that remains ineffective for the above reasons.
Sanjay Dutt is the best choice for the role of Nasser Khan. He has a good rapport with the kids, especially in the emotional scenes. However, there was a shortage of playing the cricket coach. He seems disinterested in his role in many scenes which works against the film not delivering the emotion it should have through the character of Nasser. Nargis Fakhri as Ayesha looks lost. In her small role, didn't know what she was doing, what is she adding substantial to the story, even her dialogue delivery is bland. The talent of Rahul Dev in the character of terrorist Abdul Qazar has also been completely lost by the director. Well, the strongest side of the film is the children who are part of the 'Torbaaz' team, especially Aishan Javed Malik, Rehan Sheikh, and Rudra Soni.
The cinematography of the film is good and eye-filling. It has been shot in Afghanistan and Bishkek and Hiroo Keshwani captures the two locations perfectly with his camera. However, the weakest side of the film is editing, which is by Dilip Deo. There are many scenes in the film that do not have any significance for the story but only make it cumbersome and adds unnecessary length. The background score by Bickram Ghosh is effective but the songs are forgettable.
Torbaaz directed by Girish Malik is a simple case of hit and miss. Earlier, he made a film Jal in 2013, which was welcomed and praised by all. Here, Girish tries to show you the situation in Afghanistan, which gives you a chance to look into this world differently. In the name of cricket, it tries to offers entertainment, but still, there is something which film lacks and that too in huge amount. It could have been a better film but here the film is dull and ineffectual, in fact, the result is worse.
Rating:- 1.5/5
Now streaming on Netflix.
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