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Subedaar review: Gritty, Gutsy
‘Subedaar’ - Suresh Triveni's resurrects the 80/90’s action entertainer genre with a raw and intense pulse, but the drama is saddled with a flimsy plotline, predictable beats and some under-fleshed characters.
Triveni's protagonist resonates with the one we saw in his last month's ‘Daldal’ - haunted by the past and traumatic loss of his beloved, Anil Kapoor's brooding Arjun Maurya, a retired Army Subedar wreaks havoc on the bad guys of a sand mafia after they mess with him.
The bad guys - Prince, the illegitimate and reckless, trigger-happy son of late Lallan Singh (a terrific Aditya Rawal), Softy (Faisal Malik) as the calculative and sane-brain guy and the kingpin, Babli Didi (Mona Singh), the legitimate and foul-mouthed daughter of Lallan Singh who operates from prison - erect enmity over a gypsy parking and their ancestral silver gun which goes missing.
In a flimsy plot that serves plenty to Kapoor's fanfare, the drama is downsized to the Maurya vs Prince battle of ego cornering the 'Krishna Hathyakand' and the systemic failure that follows, while sensationalizing a parallel track involving Maurya's daughter, Shyama (Radhika Madaan) and a bunch of eve-teasing college hooligans. There are bright moments that ‘Subedaar’ finds in the camaraderie between Kapoor and his friend, Prabhakar (played by Saurabh Shukla) who could have been explored much more as per his prowess.
Despite its weaknesses and a barely serviceable last minute surprise cameo, ‘Subedaar’ is consistently engaging for its leading man - who brings back the memories of his early 90s restraint and swagger. Anil Kapoor breathes fire in the titular role. Triveni crafts action that is gut-wrenching and visceral with a visual palette that covers the raw and rustic terrains of a hinterland town called as ‘Kokh’. Radhika Madaan's violent ordeal with her perpetrators is probably the film's best staged scenes. Brimming with authencity, the actress is firebrand personified!
Aditya Rawal renders a solid antagonist. The rustic accent is bang-on, the countenance unmatched. But the depth is missing in carving out Babli Didi - relegated to 'gaalis' and lusting over Maurya's thick moustache. Or, Malik’s Softy for that matter unless we have a sequel in making!
I go with 3 stars rating out of five
Produced by Abundantia Entertainment, Opening Image Films, Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network and distributed by Amazon Prime Video, ‘Subedaar’ is streaming on Prime Video from March 05, 2026.
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee