‘Sergeant’ review: This Randeep Hooda film is a traumatic watch

Express News Service

Sergeant Nikhil Sharma is hurt and depressed. He is suffering from the trauma of a police operation gone wrong that resulted in the death of a young man. He has also lost his right leg while on duty, resulting in 
being reassigned to a desk job. He gets more hurt and depressed. After a point, there is so much brooding that it felt like Nikhil was not played by Randeep Hooda, but by Randeep Brood-a.

The film revolves around this down-in-the-dumps cop, who strongly believes there is an international conspiracy surrounding his injury and the murder of the young man. Nikhil also believes his father is behind the death of his mother, and that his friend (Adil Hussain) left him in the lurch to move up the professional ladder. What could have been an introspective film on PTSD and how a cop finds himself fighting against a system that doesn’t believe him, turns into a forgettable sob story that ends up being unintentionally funny at times.

The last time Hooda and director Prawaal Raman collaborated, they gave us the much superior Main Hoon Charles, a biopic on Charles Sobhraj. That too was an inward-looking film, which relied more on the atmospherics than the theatrics. Sergeant veers towards the latter. So much so that even a solid performer like Hooda finds himself trying too hard. His laboured antics fail to evoke empathy. The convenient plot only makes it worse, as does the pedestrian brand of villainy. The film, despite a healthy 100-minute runtime, never really takes off.

Hussain stands tall amid the ruins, and lends a little dignity to the film. But, Sergeant just about manages to stay afloat only because of our curiosity to see how it all ends. The last act, unfortunately, is the final nail in the coffin. The resolution to all of Nikhil’s problems turns out to be criminally banal. 

As the credits roll, and the screen fades to black, we finally relate to Nikhil, feeling as downcast as he did throughout the film.  

WATCH

<br> Sergeant Nikhil Sharma is hurt and depressed. He is suffering from the trauma of a police operation gone wrong that resulted in the death of a young man. He has also lost his right leg while on duty, resulting in <br> being reassigned to a desk job. He gets more hurt and depressed. After a point, there is so much brooding that it felt like Nikhil was not played by Randeep Hooda, but by Randeep Brood-a.

The film revolves around this down-in-the-dumps cop, who strongly believes there is an international conspiracy surrounding his injury and the murder of the young man. Nikhil also believes his father is behind the death of his mother, and that his friend (Adil Hussain) left him in the lurch to move up the professional ladder. What could have been an introspective film on PTSD and how a cop finds himself fighting against a system that doesn’t believe him, turns into a forgettable sob story that ends up being unintentionally funny at times.

The last time Hooda and director Prawaal Raman collaborated, they gave us the much superior Main Hoon Charles, a biopic on Charles Sobhraj. That too was an inward-looking film, which relied more on the atmospherics than the theatrics. Sergeant veers towards the latter. So much so that even a solid performer like Hooda finds himself trying too hard. His laboured antics fail to evoke empathy. The convenient plot only makes it worse, as does the pedestrian brand of villainy. The film, despite a healthy 100-minute runtime, never really takes off.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

Hussain stands tall amid the ruins, and lends a little dignity to the film. But, Sergeant just about manages to stay afloat only because of our curiosity to see how it all ends. The last act, unfortunately, is the final nail in the coffin. The resolution to all of Nikhil’s problems turns out to be criminally banal. 

As the credits roll, and the screen fades to black, we finally relate to Nikhil, feeling as downcast as he did throughout the film.  

WATCH