Satellite Shankar Review: Sooraj Pancholi’s Invested Performance And The Second Half Are The Saving Graces For The Film!

Film: Satellite Shankar

Director: Irfan Kamal

Actors: Sooraj Pancholi, Palomi Ghosh, Megha Akash

Rated: 3.5 Out Of 5

The film tells the story of an army guy Shankar (played with utmost conviction by Sooraj) who is chilled out and easy going and has perhaps the purest heart ever. He is a helper in every real sense of the word. After he gets his leave sanctioned to visit his mother in his hometown which is the southernmost corner of the country, he faces umpteen hurdles which test his patience, the goodness of his very being and also his strength both physical and mental. Our lad, successfully passes all the tests with flying colours and in a unique way manages to unite the entire country which in turn help him to return to the army barracks right on time!

The writing, especially in the first half, is surely emotional and yet utterly implausible. I mean imagine an army lad who knows the value of time, just gets 8 days of leave. He has to reach Pollachi (The southern end of our country) from Kashmir (which is the northernmost territory of our country) the journey would take him a total of 6 days. But during the course of his journey, he is met up with several hurdles, some of which are situational and some are coincidental. Some of these could have even taken his life. But the good guy he is, absolutely unable to see anyone’s pain and suffering, he makes sure he solves all problems, and literally becomes a hero for all and sundry! And then the people who he has helped and the people who have witnessed him helping them, in turn, return the favour by making sure that he reaches the army barracks in time.

Well, the film surely has a good intention but the writing at least in the first half is seriously overdone! The very beginning scene in the film extracted laughter but as the film continued, I started getting absorbed into the emotions more and more. I could feel a certain amount of earnestness in the character and the way Sooraj plays it. It wouldn’t at all be an exaggeration to state that Sooraj definitely has invested a lot in the character and it shows. One of the best features of Sooraj’s face is his eyes. He perhaps has one of the most grieving pair of eyes. And that is why the other expressions don’t quite matter. That’s why when he lets his eyes do the talking, the purpose is served!

He made sure that he gave his performance the best he had. It was just because of his performance that the film doesn’t feel drab, the excesses get diluted and the end feels good!

I don’t think anything else other than Sooraj matters in the film. Given his past personal history, after a gap of 7 years, this one is his second film, therefore it is evident that he has put his heart and soul into it and taking that away from someone is unfair!

Coming back to the film, the second half seemed much more interesting than the first and the ending too was fulfilling! Barring a few writing goof-ups, the film makes you feel good about the world you live in and therefore it deserves to be watched!