Film: Satellite Shankar

Cast: Sooraj Pancholi and Megha Akash

Director: Irfan Kamal

Rating:  2.5 Moons

After making a not so heroic debut with Nikkhil Advani’s Hero in 2015, Sooraj Pancholi makes a comeback with Irfan Kamal’s Satellite Shankar. It revolves around the adventures of a soldier on a journey towards discovering the length and breadth of the country during which he finds himself. The film stars Megha Akash and Palomi Ghosh too and takes the audience on their own journey of self-discovery as Sooraj unites the nation while exploring the beauty of our country.

Sooraj plays a happy-go-lucky soldier named Shankar aka Satellite Shankar. All he wants in return for his services to the country is leave to visit his mother. When Shankar finally gets time off, he goes on an epic road trip to his home town, and along the way gets entangled in one adventure after another. One incident, where he is compelled to rough up some goons, propels him to overnight fame. The film highlights how the country treats its soldiers and eventually turns into a tribute to Shankar and his fellow soldiers. It also strongly showcases Kashmir’s dislike for the Indian Army in the scene where locals go to extremes to harm Shankar. 

Recommended Read: Watch: Sooraj Pancholi as 'Satellite Shankar' uses his vacation to help the nation as an eccentric soldier in this inspiring trailer

Sooraj comes out as a true hero in the film with his perfect timing and notice worthy dialogue delivery. Megha as Shankar’s love interest Pramela makes her Bollywood debut with the film and is the surprise package. The actress owns her every scene with perfection and has a short but sweet role to offer. Palomi as Mira Bakshi, on the other hand, does full justice to her strong and stubborn role as a blogger. 

Full marks for the background music and tunes which instantly instill patriotism in the audience. However, the songs poorly manage to show the inspiring saga of a soldier and his love for his county. Even though the first half of the film is boring, the second half turns out to be a winner. The editing and screenplay are as crisp as possible. The film leaves an impact with its backgrounds and locations. High on nationalism and patriotism, the ending will make everyone shout ‘Jaya Hai” with pride. Satellite Shankar manages to impress in bits and pieces with a heartwarming message. 

 (Source: PeepingMoon)