Director Tigmanshu manages to keep the audiences' interest intact with many nail biting scenes. Paan Singh Tomar draws inspiration from Shekhar Kapur's Bandit Queen, which is also a biopic on Phoolan Devi.
A plot like this is likely to turn monotonous after a certain time. However, Tigmanshu has made a serious endeavour to grab your attention by focussing on the reason behind why Paan Singh decides to become a dacoit. In fact, the motive is so compelling that you begin to relate to the character essayed by Irrfan Khan.
There are few light moments too that makes you smile. The scene in which Paan Singh sends his children out of the house to buy lemon juices so that he could spend some time alone with his wife, essayed by Mahie Gill is nice.
Dialogues (Rajendra Gupta), editing (Aarti Bajaj), cinematography (Aseem Mishra) and screenplay is excellent. In fact, dialogues are so good that it help build the plot, which is quite rare in Bollywood movies.
Though you may leave the theatre with a heavy heart, you can be satisfied that you watched a meaningful film that came true from the heart!
Story
The story of Paan Singh Tomar is set in Chambal and revolves around the life of a brilliant athlete named Paan Singh Tomar (Irrfan Khan), who brings a lot of fame to the country by winning steeplechase, a form of race, at the Indian National Games consecutively for seven years. However, after his retirement, he is forced to go to Chambal where he pursues farming. A series of events and happenings in his life makes him take up the gun and become a dacoit.
Performances
Paan Singh Tomar would not have worked out if not for the outstanding performance of Irrfan Khan. It is obvious that Irrfan has trained himself to justify the role that he did. Irrfan is 'perfect' in every way and not once does he falter in his portrayal of the character.
Mahie Gill is brilliant and has given a wonderful performance, and so has Vipin Sharma and Rajendra Gupta. All other actors have delivered a good performance.
Overall, Paan Singh Tomar is a must watch movie!
Directed By: Tigmanshu Dhulia
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Mahie Gill, Vipin Sharma, Imran Hasnee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
