After Vicky Kaushal's Uri- The Surgical Strike, the expectations from any film based on National defence, is rocket high. What the film served in terms of less drama, more action has set the tone of patriotic films on another tangent.
Zee5's latest web series, Jeet Ki Zid, starring Amit Sadh, Amrita Puri and Sushant Singh is based on Ex Indian Army Major Deependra Singh Sengar's life story, where Amit portrays Major Sengar, Amrita plays his wife, Jaya and Sushant is seen as Colonel Ranjeet Chaudhary. After completing the series, there was just one question which came to my mind- does it succeed in painting Major's stimulating and motivating journey to the core? Sadly, I didn't have an affirmative answer to that. And this feeling grew stronger every time the real Major Deependra Sengar and his wife Jaya appeared on screen after each episode, reciting their story first hand.
The life story of Major Deependra Singh Sengar is not only moving, emotional and highly encouraging but had enough meat to be projected on the celluloid. How he was never inclined towards sports or physical activities as a child, very unlike his elder brother, who mastered in that field. How life took a U-turn for Sengar, after he lost his brother in a terrorist attack in Kashmir, on their family vacation. How he joined the Army only to serve the nation and make sure no more innocent lives are sacrificed by militant groups. Then, during a mission in Kargil war he gets shot 5 times and loses his ability to walk ever again. And how he overcomes that disability too with his will power, only to stand on his feet once again.
The story had a wide range of emotions- action, patriotism, frustration, helplessness and Amit held on strongly to all of them. Yet, there was something amiss. For me, it was the lack of projecting the combat sequences with utmost perfection. Whether it was Sengar's first rescue mission in Kashmir, or the mission during the Kargil war- all of them looked very amateur. Again, I couldn't help but recall the realness of such scenes in Uri.
I felt the second half of Major's story- which was about dealing with his own demons, his insecurities, his journey to overcome all of that with his "backbone" (as he calls her), his wife Jaya by his side- were far more convincing and heart-wrenching. Amit was more in the skin of the character in that phase of Major's life than the army man. You will find Amit giving it all in the sequences where he trains again with Colonel Ranjeet to build his willpower to walk once more. The Kai Po Che actor shows zeal and sincerity in the scenes where he had to perform physical tasks and for that, I'd give him a 10 on 10.
Director Vishal Mangalorkar pushes hard to reach the finish line with utmost finesse but unfortunately ends up serving us a half-baked dish. In an inspirational film, backed by patriotism, dialogues play a major role but Jeet Ki Zid had none which stood out- another drawback.
The supporting cast made me laugh quite a few times because they all looked too gimmicky. Aly Goni, the current Bigg Boss 14 sensation plays Major's friend's role but the actor didn't impress me at all. I guess I could only see Bigg Boss all over him, my bad!
Talking about other central characters, Amrita Puri does a good job as the 'ziddi wife' of a ziddi officer. She has the display of emotions in control, her dialogue delivery in line, something which her co-star Amit Sadh let go of a couple of times. Ace actor Sushant Singh portrays the 'sanki' colonel perfectly. He could surely tutor actors in emoting with eyes and a stone face!
Overall, Jeet Ki Zid had strong content, intent and the zeal but it could not leave a big impact as it was dealt with ammaturely. If the writing would have been strong, the depiction of combat scenes more real and Amit a bit more in control of his emotions, the series would have turned out far more engaging. However, as it's based on a real hero's life events, I'll recommend you to watch it, because such stories need to be heard! 2.5 stars for its depiction but a big salute to Major Deependra Singh Sengar's tale of bravery and his undying spirit.
Image Source: Instagram/zee5premium, youtube/zee5/SpotboyE, IMDb