Vicky Kaushal is back in the Indian Army uniform. No, it’s not for the sequel to his 2019 military action blockbuster Uri: The Surgical Strike, for which he won a National Film Award. This time, it’s a biopic of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, also known as Sam Bahadur. The film’s teaser, released on Friday, shows Vicky transforming into India’s first field marshal
While Vicky Kaushal looks quite like Sam Bahadur in his 1960s-70s days, his demeanor and the setting of the film carry a strong Uri hangover. Vicky, as Sam, is seen giving a pep talk to his fellow army men, almost making us believe that he’d soon break into “How’s the Josh,” his popular line from Aditya Dhar’s film.
Even some of his dialogues, like the one he delivers to then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at the end of the teaser, are also tonally very similar to the world of Uri. When Indira tells him that a soldier’s job is to die on the battlefield, he counters that and retorts that a soldier’s duty is to eliminate the soldiers on the opposing side
The similarities may also stem from the common production house that bankrolled both the military movies and Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies. Sam Bahadur marks the second collaboration between director Meghna Gulzar and Vicky, after their 2018 blockbuster spy thriller Raazi.
Sam Bahadur was the Chief of the Army Staff during the India-Pakistan War of 1971. He was also the first Indian Army official to be promoted to the rank of field marshal. His career lasted for almost five decades and five wars, including World War II.
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