Sardar Ka Grandson starring Arjun Kapoor, Rakul Preet, and Neena Gupta is streaming on Netflix now. Directed by Kaashvi Nair, it is the story of Amreek (played by Arjun Kapoor), who decides to literally uproot and move an ancestral home from Lahore to Amritsar as part of his grandmother's dying wish.
Sardar, a name given fondly to Neena Gupta's character, was forced to leave this ancestral home during the partition after her husband died in communal clashes. After this, she migrated to Amritsar and since she is living her final days, she wants to die in her old home, and her grandson, Amreek vows to fulfill that wish.
So, here is what I thought of the movie as the events unfolded:
1. When I first heard about the movie, I thought, "Doesn't this movie exist already?" But turns out, I was thinking of Son of Sardar, LOL. I guess talking about that sad excuse of a movie is not the best way to start our review, right...? Anyway, too late.
2. Say what you will, but the casting of Sardar ka Grandson is on point. Neena Gupta fits the role of this savage dadi so well. She drinks whiskey and makes it look super cool. But hey, is this even true? Do Punjabi dadis really like whiskey? Or is this just a Bollywood thing?
All I know is if I see my dadi chugging anything other than medicines, I WILL lose it.
3. In the beginning of the movie, Arjun Kapoor and Rakul Preet are shown breaking up, followed by some sad scenes. And guys, I have to say, both Arjun Kapoor and I have the same post-heartbreak symptoms- we eat ice cream uncontrollably while sobbing, watch movies, and leave miserable messages to the other person. Heartbreak is universal, I guess.
4. So it's been 30 minutes since I started the movie and I know two things- Amreek is a klutz, he keeps dropping and breaking things all around, and honestly I have no idea what this has to do with the plot of the movie, like, AT ALL.
The second thing is that John Abraham can nail ANY look. He plays the role of Neena Gupta's husband in her flashbacks and OMG, this guy can do it all.
While this is fine, where is the plot?? I'm still looking for it, and I cannot go on like this. I'm afraid even John Abraham's looks aren't enough to keep me glued to this movie for so long.
Vasooli agrees with me.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)
5. 40 minutes into the movie, and the story begins (FINALLY). Amreek is at Lahore trying to uproot his dadi's house, but plot twist (because this movie desperately needs one), he reaches there to find that the house is going to be demolished at this very second and he has to stop it. (talk about timing)
So, what does he do? He takes some inspiration from the queen herself, Miley Cyrus (yes, you read that right), and literally climbs on the wrecking ball to stop the demolition. Don't believe me? Check it out:
When Arjun came in like a wrecking ball.
(Photo Courtesy: Netflix)
See the similarity?
6. Also, Radha, played by Rakul Preet (Amreek's ex) magically appears in Lahore after refusing to help Amreek with his project. Her entry in Lahore is as random as her role... I don't know why it's there, but at the same time, I'm not surprised.
Like, she is there for two songs and maybe 10 more minutes. Could have done without her too, I guess?
7. The movie has an anti-hero, because, why not? He comes in the form of Lahore's mayor who is hell bent on not letting Amreek's plan go through. And honestly, just like Amreek's clumsiness and Rakul Preet's role, this mayor too, has no point. TBH, he's just adding more minutes to the movie.
8. Bro, this mayor really needs to chill. 80% of his dialogue is "Aavam ko koi dikkat nahi honi chahiye (People in the neighbourhood shouldn't be inconvenienced)," since the uprooting of the house is making a considerable amount of construction noise.
And I just want to say how unrealistic this is... like, what is this fantasy world where bureaucrats and local politicians actually give a damn about community peace? This is peak inaccurate representation, smh.
9. Amreek's unrelenting passion to uproot his dadi's house reminds me of someone else's passion. Just like Amreek, he will stop at nothing... It doesn't matter what's going on, he will do what he wants and get the house he needs... The only difference is that Amreek is uprooting a house for his dadi, and this man is building a house for himself...
10. While they are uprooting the house in Lahore, a random local invites them to a wedding where Arjun and Rakul start dancing full on. Like, wow. Trust Bollywood to insert a masala, dramatic song anywhere in the movie, even if it has no connection to the plot. But honestly, who's surprised? I'm not!
11. So, I looked it up, and it turns out it actually IS possible to move a house from one place to another, and people really do it. Like, actually uprooting an entire house and moving it. You guys, this movie is a literal homecoming. Consider my mind blown.
12. So when I started the movie, I thought it was going to be a stereotypical Punjabi slapstick, with Santa Banta type jokes, but the movie has actually fared a lot better than I imagined. It has emotion and comedy, along with romance, like a typical Bollywood movie and is not a very bad watch.
If you've watched Radhe recently, surviving Sardar Ka Grandson will be a cakewalk.
13. But jokes aside, some emotional scenes in the movie are actually pretty sweet, and I ended up liking the movie more than I expected. The bond between Amreek and his Sardar is very sweet, the tiny family banters are adorable and overall, it's a lot more than I would expect from Arjun Kapoor, so that's a win, right?
Plus, look at it from my POV-- I thought this was going to be something like Son of Sardar, so when I finally saw it, I was delightfully surprised.
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