Director Omung Kumar needs to be appreciated for choosing real-life stories for his films, be it his previous ‘Mary Kom’ or ‘Sarbjit’. A person that receives standing ovation in the entire film is RANDEEP HOODA! He as the protagonist, Sarbjit will give you goosebumps and you won’t hold yourself from weeping. The way this man switches himself from one emotion to other is just SEAMLESS! Aishwarya Rai Bachchan delivers a sincere act! She is full of emotions while narrating the story of her brother, but unfortunately, these emotions are too much to handle! Also, the de-glam avatar of the stars is apt every time to the situation! The realistic touch in 'Sarbjit' is one thing that we miss. You get overdose of melodrama, unnatural tale and bombastic dialogues. Scenes just drag on and on and finally become unimaginative and sheer boredom! Though the concept of the flick is novel, the execution is flawed. But still watch the film for its incredible performances! Especially for Randeep's sparkling performance, we suggest you not to miss ‘Sarbjit’. You will feel his pain and leave the theatre with moist eyes!

Filmmaker Omung Kumar hasn't just dropped a vowel from the unlucky hero's name for his film based on Sarabjit Singh, who Pakistan alleged was an Indian spy responsible for carrying out bomb blasts in its territory, but he has also made the reel story a mawkish, screechy mess. The blame lies largely in the script which doesn't leave much for its actors to do other than excessively cry or scream or otherwise sit sulking. If you are looking for context on Ranjan Singh Mattoo, the man Pakistan alleged Sarabjit is, or the debate over Sarabjit's identity, then this is not the film. This is a tearjerker in which the tears hardly flow. Sarbjit is the kind of film where as Sarabjit lays dying in a Pakistani hospital, Kaur gets a podium to stand and deliver a raging lecture. The director's decision to end the film with his own didactic quote than with Kaur's words is unfortunate and denies the real Kaur a platform to speak about her battle or her brother. Instead we get are photos of the man himself and his family which will make viewers more mournful for the clan than the film itself.

Omung Kumar's Sarbjit is a film trapped in no man's land. Based on a newsy real-life story, it takes cavalier liberties with reality. The result is a disappointment of monumental proportions. Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan is woefully miscast as the dogged sister of the titular character. The screenplay makes no attempt to link Dalbir Kaur's crusade on behalf of Sarabjit to a trace of guilt that she might have felt for her role, however indirect, in precipitating her brother's fate. Randeep Hooda is an exceptionally gifted actor and has clearly put in a lot of effort to get into the skin of the character. But he is let down by the creative choices that the writer (Utkarshini Vashishth) and the director make on his behalf. Richa Chadha chews up everything in the frame every time she is allowed some elbow room. Unfortunately, she has only two and a half scenes at best in which to display her wares. It is obvious that the strategy is to not let her upstage the 'bigger' star. With the star not shining all that bright and the actors in the mix not allowed to play the game their way, Sarbjit is a well-meaning outing that fails to do justice to its subject. Watch it only if you are an Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan fan no matter what.

Sarbjit is an irresponsibly sloppy film, a film so focused on artless emotional manipulation and trying to make the audience weep, that it trivialises an important true-life story. Sarbjit is an irresponsibly sloppy film, a film so focused on artless emotional manipulation and trying to make the audience weep, that it trivialises an important true-life story. Kumar's last film, Mary Kom, had no flow from scene to scene and played through like a Powerpoint presentation on the boxer, bolstered only by Priyanka Chopra's performance. This time around, the director tries too hard to get things to flow, starting with much cross-cutting only to end up with a highly linear and disjointed narrative with ill-suited songs. There is earnestness, however — even in Rai’s performance — but this is not an effective or emotional film. It is, in fact, the 80s Doordarshan version of Bajrangi Bhaijaan. This, however, is just my opinion. I’m sure Mr Kumar can write his own review, and quote himself on the poster.