User Reviews

I'd never seen a Bollywood film until now but having read about the Battle of Saragarhi I thought it would be interesting to watch. I will admit there is definitely some heavy melodrama in a few action scenes, I don't know if this is common in Indian films or not but it does disrupt the flow of the film somewhat (or at least give you the impression that beards and turbans give you superpowers). That being said most of the action sequences are well done and the tone while serious is punctuated by some hilarious jokes and dialogue that reflect the camaraderie amongst soldiers in such situations and make relating to and investing in a rather large cast of characters considerably easier. I don't know how Indian audiences would rate this film against other Bollywood films but I found this far more entertaining than recent Hollywood blockbusters.

After watching Kesari trailer, I thought this might be an Indian version of 300. But no, the movie doesn't feel that way at all. Based on a true story, which I didn't know before, there is enough heart and soul in this venture to keep us entertained. Akshay Kumar even with a fake looking beard, shone in the movie. The comradeship of the 36th Sikh regiment and their struggles were nicely portrayed but other groups like Pathans and British folk were one-dimensional making them feel like caricatures . It is entertaining but the length and slow motion action scenes just make it very exhausting. It is enjoyable to watch an Indian bravery story but a better screenplay and tighter editing would have made it a better viewing experience.

I wouldn't want to leave any spoilers, but do watch this movie. It's definitely a must watch although I was pretty late for the same. After watching it, I salute the Sikh with great respect to them. Akshay Kumar, once again, has done a remarkable job proving why he has been the best in the business since last 3 years. The movie's collection didn't do justice to this Epic, full of emotions movie, however the reason I must say could be the religion prospect. I would like you to leave that part for a while, and watch the movie. For a bit, enjoy yourself, and have no grudge for any community/religion be it Muslim/Sikh/hindu or even the Poor! Lead the life with the justice to serve humanity, however, if not so, then don't let anything happen in this society that spreads religious terror. Stay happy and make the world Smile. Jai Hind!

• pawan punjabi

Kesari (UA) (PG12)

Genre: War History Action

POSITIVES

1)Akshay Kumar Performance

2)Action is well choreographed

3)Location and Cinematography

4)Music and BGM

5)Dialogues

6)Humour

7)Direction and Camera Work

WEAKNESSES

1)Parineeti Chopra Performance should be more better but OK

Jai Hind

A very sharp script with a powerfull performance.The screenplay is superb.akshay kumar's acting is top notch.watch it for sure.

Kesari is a well captured Period War Drama. It's first of it's kind as other periodic films mostly have love story as base or many other commercial elements are involved but unlike those Kesari is a story about those 21 brave 36th Sikh Regiment Soldiers who had the responsibility to save the day and honor of theirs. Important thing about this movie is they haven't twisted the history and facts in order to make it intriguing or exciting, in fact the war scenes are very realistic and well choreographed as well as long enough to enjoy which was missing in most period movies till now except Manikarnika and Bahubali series.

Movie locations are spectacular. VFX was very nice. Dialogues were powerful and sometimes less words did their work very well, eg "Chal Jootha". Action sequences were very realistic and a treat to watch. Emotional connect was from start of the movie till the end. Some techniques during war were impressive. So many moments of Goosebumps. BGM was awesome and fully justified. Bonding between the Sikh soldiers gave a good feel.

On the other side, film took too much time to the start of war and that's where editing was required. Roles of Afghanis could have been added and the drama could have been made more interesting in the first half. As the War scenes were eye candy I wish the makers could have added 10 more minutes of the action and war scenes. Hand Grenades were used at that time by soldiers which were missing.

When it comes to intense and such powerful roles Akshay Kumar will not be a first choice in anyone's mind but here he proves everyone wrong as he was born to play Havaldar Ishar Singh. A role for a lifetime he played. His acting was one of the best thing that lifted up Kesari. His intensity is spectacular. The other 20 Sikhs were played powerfully especially Gurmukh Singh's character was played very well.

In the end you will feel what those real soldiers would have gone through.

The battle of Saraghari is wonderfully depicted in the movie "KESARI" The bravery and devotion of Sikh soldiers who had shed their blood for our motherland is something worth watching. I saw this movie on first day first show. You will surely have GOOSEBUMPS. You must watch this GREAT MOVIE🇮🇳.

Very inspiring and emotional at the end. Not much of a story but bravery of 21 soldiers against 10000 Afghan attackers has been depicted very well. Akshay Kumar is fantastic and specially Last 30 minutes is very good. Teri Mittti song is one of the best song in recent times and very well sung.

I love action movies, and I love historical movies. And I love Akshay Kumar. I should have loved this movie. I hated it.

Let me say this first. Just because a movie has an inspiring message does not mean it's a good movie. This certainly wasn't. The first half was extremely slow. The action which kicked off the movie had too much slo mo and was tension less. All the hits felt choreographed. Some scenes were extremely gory, while other looked like they were shot to get a U/A rating. In the last battle, when everybody is dying, the moments should have been scary and sad. This movie made it sad but sentimental, thus draining the tension and flow of the action.

And this movie continued the trend of Hindi movies having aweful background music. It's very loud and it shoves down our throats the feelings we should feel.

Also, what was up with Parineeti's character. Was Akshay imagining her, or was she a ghost.

1 out of 5 for me.

Go & watch... & judge yourself...

A blockbuster writingover it. Akshay Kumar's best acting. Action sequencs are lit 🔥🔥 It deserve blockbuster .

I went thinking that I will get to see some logical war tactics like in the movie 300 but it was nothing like that. It's just emotions and feelings using which 21 sikh soldiers fight thousands of Afghans and it turns into ridiculous action in the end like we see in some South Indian movies. Conclusion is that this movie is watchable but don't expect much from it.

There is subtle exaggeration to stress on a certain point, and there is blatant exaggeration to the point of absurdity. This movie like all bollywood films does the latter. For some reason Bollywood has to demean all other community in order to advance their own depictions of valor and courage without exception. For example, all Britishers shown on film has to be inherently sadists, arrogant and abusive and derive personal pleasure from abusing Indians. Reality, not all Brits were cruel and some even thought highly of Indians and were friends. Many britishers were born in India and even remember their birthplace with pride.

In bollywood, the enemy is always backstabbing cowards and there are no exception. Whereas the Indians are always ready to sacrifice. In this movie probably the better course would have been to keep the Afghans as nameless and faceless tribals, more as a horde.

Too many unnecessary details added that do nothing to move the plot forward. Understanding this film was completed with budget constraints, I choose not to delve into goofs and factual, technical and historical flaws. But I must say, the makeup, most of all was the least convincing. Being a war, one would expect a lot more gore and blood than a PG rated movie.

Last;y I guess we would have to wait till Hollywood decides to pick up this story and makes a film on it.

Akshay's best movie. The CGI is impeccable. If you are not aware of Sikh martial art than you would not understand the fight sequences. If you visit a Sikh Akhada where they practice martial art you would exactly see what Akshay has done. He has brought out the true Sikh Martial Art essence. The slow motion is not over the top because it is exactly how they fight. The film flows beautifully. The graphics and the sound design is absolutely spot on. Direction has been at its finest. Every Indian must watch this film.

A best movie..watched 1st day 1st show...good action..few comedy seen also there. ..not enough space for parineeti but good appearance ...only big thing is AKSHAY KUMAR and SHIKH BRAVERY...MUST WATCH

Had a great experience watching it amazing visuals and music was really cool

Great tribute to the 21 brave men who fought till death to protect their motherland. Akshay Kumar leading the bunch, packs a solid punch with his excellent portrayal of Ishar Singh. Even though a very small role, Parineeti has done a fine job. The action shown in the film is never seen before as far as the hindi film industry goes. The climax of the film will make you emotional. Rare comes a film which has everything perfect about it. Kesari is an untold tale of bravery which shouldn't be missed.

2019 has been a fabulous year so with heart-warming true stories of our brave heroes who have gone beyond their duty to defend their country. Films like URI-The Surgical Strike, Manikarnika -The Queen Of Jhansi and now Kesari lifts the spirits of patriotism for our country.

Kesari tells the true of 21 heroes of the Sikh Regiment of the British Army who fought against 10,000 Afghanistan tribes in 1897 to protect the army post in Saragarhi.

Directed by Anurag Singh, who has previously made Punjabi films like Punjab 1984 and Super Singh, Kesari takes time to settle. The initial few reels are just dull while the screenplay does not build much momentum. The chemistry between Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra is lifeless , the interaction of Akshay Kumar with the Sikh soldiers while taking over the army post is average. It is the second half which builds the steam when the actual war event starts from early morning. The early warning drum beats by the Afghan tribes and the way Akshay Kumar reciprocate to prove that he is ready for the war, creates the curiosity.

As the war starts, the fight scenes between two parties will keep you engaged till the end of the film. I particularly liked the sword fighting scene at the end when Akshay Kumar single-handedly kills few Afghan tribes. Here the action scene and camera-work are impressive while the slow-motion engagement is captured beautifully. On the flip side, the editing is poor as the film could easily be trimmed by 20-25 minutes. The screenplay is average while dialogues in few places could have memorable. While Kesari belongs to Akshay Kumar, essaying the role of Havildar Ishar Singh, the one who leads the fight against Afghan tribes, let us not forget the other soldiers who have equally contributed to defend their land. The definition of each character is not done properly.

Performance-wise, it is Akshay Kumar who impresses with his sincere effort. The actor has come a long way since his strong performance in Baby (2015) and has been selecting right movies to prove his mettle. The other actors does not get much scope to showcase their talent.

Overall, Kesari is a good-watch but could have been made better. Decent 2.75/5

This was my first movie in hall and i feel proud to myself that i selected this movie. My salute to our an INDIAN security forces and Akshay Kumar.

Awesome movie gives inspiration to all those who love our nation.

Not a foreign film. They used every western film technique to enhance action drama dialogue... story line is about a real event that they reduced to super cheesy.. if you want to hear an indian language film with grown men acting like children playing soldier that is western culture dressed as sikh, oh and yes feel the embarrassment of watching people make fools of themselves, here you go.

Guys, ignore all haters and go to this movie. This movie is masterpiece from Akshay sir.. Actually, I was expecting a good movie from akki sir but this movie is lifetime best for me now ..

Kesari has it's flaws- such as it's eagerness to paint Akshay Kumar's character as the proverbial do-gooder, who helps the enemies construct their mosques in peace time and who orders that water be given to the fallen enemy soldiers. Another flaw is it's length, which could have been trimmed from 142 minutes to 120.

These are outnumbered by many positives, such as Akshay Kumar's performance, which in my opinion,is his best performance. There are these ten minutes, close to the end, when he is facing off a crowd of hundreds. The intensity in his eyes is a physical thing. May leave the hair on your arms (if there are any to begin with) raised.

The action scenes are aplenty, with almost the entire second half of 75 minutes a series of battles. They are very well choreographed, with surprisingly high amount of gore, for a UA film.

The dialogues are meant to appeal to your inner Manoj Kumar. And appeal they do, mostly.

I believe that it would been out of scope for a 2.5 hour long film to do justice to all 21 of the brave Sikhs who took on the 10000+ marauding Pathans. The film tries it's hardest, but doesn't succeed spectacularly.

However, it would leave you with a lump in your throat, because of Akshay and those action scenes. Courage of the desi variety has seldom been more spectacularly shown.

Recommended

Was expecting big things, but dissapointed yet again just like many recent big Bollywood movies. 1st half is somewhat bearable but after that ur one eye will be fixed on the exit door. Highly dissapointed. Dharma movies:/

Movie is awesome in every aspect.every scene from the movie was awesome