'Torbaaz' movie review: Sanjay Dutt's film isn't bad, but we expect more from him

Movie name: Torbaaz

Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Rahul Dev, Nargis Fakhri, Gavie Chahal, Kuwaarjeet Chopraa

Director: Girish Malik

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

When I saw the first frame of this film, it felt like I am watching a documentary on BBC Earth. An eagle, metaphorically used in the film's title, in hunt of a lamb. A decent scene, captured beautifully via the slow-motion technique, that made me check the menu option again to ensure I am still watching the movie and haven’t mistakenly turned on some Nat Geo show. It was precise, a visual delight!

'Torbaaz' is not a film, it's a document of war-torn Afghanistan and the spirit of its people. How cricket saved this country, and how the Taliban, in the name of Jihad, is converting innocent children and their helpless families into trained suicide bombers. 

Directed by Girish Shukla, 'Torbaaz' tells you the story of an ex-military doctor Nasser Khan (Sanjay Dutt) who lost his wife and son in a blast caused by a suicide bomber. Years later, he returns to Afghanistan to help his friend Ayesha (Nargis Fakhri), who runs an NGO for war-affected families.

On the other hand, we have this energetic bunch of children who want to learn the game of cricket.

Nasser, a cricket enthusiast, decides to mentor this irrepressible group and creates his version of 'Lagaan'.

The story drones over various serious issues - Taliban, Pashtun, and Hazara conflicts, situation of refugee camps and this is where the plot goes for a toss. Among the kids, there is a Pakistani boy 'Baaz' who has been trained as a suicide bomber by a terrorist commander Qazar (Rahul Dev). Sanjay prepares his team for a big match whereas the terrorist sees this match as a great opportunity for their sinister plan.

After 'Sadak 2', this is Sanjay's second OTT release. And here, I must mention that while Sanjay is picking up good scripts, the execution is not happening in the right way.

Cricket vs terrorism was a great idea but with no supporting cast, the film doesn't satisfy your expectations. It is not a bad film, it is just that you expect more emotion and punchy dialogues from a Sanjay Dutt flick.

All the actors, including Dutt, were not looking happy with the role. As if, they were not convinced by the theme. Rahul Dev, as the terrorist commander, didn't yield that fear. Nargis had no dialogues and surprisingly, they didn't give her an item song as well. The only respite was that small kid who asked Sanjay for the ball and played the sidekick to the leader of the pack - Baaz!

Netflix, in their quest to gather a massive user base, is trying to buy out all the Indian films. They are giving a chance to new filmmakers and indie content creators, encouraging them to come up with titles. 'Torbaaz' is one such experiment.

Amazon has captured Tollywood already, and Hotstar is buying all Hindi content, hence it is important for Netflix to come up with exclusive titles like 'Torbaaz'. They are ready to compromise on the content quality but they are hungry for the numbers.