Apoorva Lakhia's long-delayed war drama drops a four-minute trailer. The early verdict: more TV saga than trench realism.
The trailer for Maatrubhumi: May War Rest in Peace dropped Tuesday. Four minutes, thirty-five seconds. Inspired by the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, loosely built around the 16 Bihar Regiment. It has been sitting on the shelf a while.
The wait, Koimoi argues, didn't help. The outlet's trailer review opens with a blunt line: the film had every ingredient for raw, respectful war cinema. The trailer proves none of it. Instead, a script with an identity crisis.
One hand preaches universal peace and human cost. The other serves glossy, over-dramatised TV saga — subtlety left at the door. Salman Khan steps in as a Bihari commander. The review says he never disappears into the role.
It reads like Salman playing Salman in olive green. The attempted Bihari war cry comes off forced. Anti-war monologues sound like they belong in a different film entirely. Then there's the dialogue.
A frozen riverbank standoff. Opposing troops facing off. And the line: 'Shezwan mein kuch kaala hai.' Koimoi calls it a disgrace. Chitrangda Singh gets a brief emotional anchor, the family-waiting-back-home box, ticked.
Her sub-plot already feels like a textbook role designed solely for that purpose. Apoorva Lakhia, last seen directing Shootout at Lokhandwala, struggles for balance. Fight sequences lack sharp choreography. The loud background score manufactures tension it hasn't earned.
The film releases December 4. The trailer suggests a battle on two fronts: the one on screen, and the one to convince audiences this isn't just another star vehicle draped in the flag.
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