User reviews

The pair has given us the unforgettable "Haasil" and they are back again with "Paan Singh Tomar".

The movie has an excellent script, very well supported by the actors and their performances. Irrfan khan does an incredibly good job with the character. Mahie Gill has done equally well and she is really growing as an actor.

The script and its originality is the strongest point of the movie. The direction of the movie is also flawless... Tigmanshu Dhulia must be praised for picking up this script and turning into an excellent movie.

Must Watch

Watched it in the London Film Festival yesterday. Its a star of a movie. Great tight script, super acting, and great direction. All the actors have done a great job but Irfan is just magnificent- he is turning up as the next Nasruddin Shah

Everyone in the cinema seemed to enjoy the movie and the director got a nice applause in the end.

My worry is that this movie might not get a wide release, specially abroad - I hope UTV does it best to publicise and release it as much as it can.

Well recommended !!!!

This is my first time, so please forgive me in case of any mistake...

Just watched this movie with my friends. If SRK & Salman could do 10% of Irrfan's acting,I would not mind calling them superstars. Hats off to Irrfan Khan and the movie.....10/10 !! What a great performance delivered by Irrfan khan. After watching a number of dumb movies released recently, Paan Singh Tomar is like a boon for every Indian movie fan. The director Tigmanshu Dhulia is successfully able to tell the biopic how a former national champion athlete is turned into a Dacoit in a cricket obsessed country. A must watch for everyone.....Highly recommended !!

In an era where box office success more often means 'No script and mediocrity' in Bollywood, once a while comes a gem like 'Pan Singh Tomar'. Irrfan comes into his own, well immersed into his character...he takes the audience on a trip which brings out a range of emotions from patriotism, guru bhakti, helplessness and finally revenge. Though the language is thick Chamabl dialect but Irrfan bridges that gap with a masterful display forcing you to laugh, cry and feel his pain.

Tigmanshu Dhulia is among the rare breed of bollywood directors along with Anurag Kashyap who have the knack of picking up great scripts and turning them out into movies which have the right mix of real acting and appeal to please both the masses and multiplex audience. The movie is a must watch...go out and enjoy the wonderful experience of watching the haunting Irrfan in action...bow your heads to the person who has grown from Salaam Bombay to Haasil to Maqbool.

I saw this in a theatre. The acting in this film is the shinning point. Especially the main actor Irfaan khan made a great impression on my mind by his excellent acting skill. Irfaan excellently potrayed the emotion of a "runner" who is suffering from pain, frustration and exhaustion, but he is not giving up. The rest is the portrayal of a man who has never had it easy in his life but nonetheless keeps his heart. The screenplay is brilliant. Being a biopic of an army guy/athlete who turned into a dacoit won't b a happy/fun movie. It's a very sad movie. But Irfann did manage to evoke some light moments by his sheer one liners n acting. Imagine an athlete who's very good in running has to run away from police. The direction was good n the cinematography was good capturing the harsh, dry, rural difficult terrain.

Paan Singh Tomar, national steeplechase champion, nephew of a Dacoit or "Baaghi" as Paan prefers to call it, an army soldier wants to be in army sports because they don't have restriction on eating food. The interesting plot builds on it and takes you to a whirlwind journey of his life, which tickles you, inspires you, and ultimately asks you some very uncomfortable questions.

Tigmanshu Dhulia paints the canvas with natural but vivid emotions, he has surely pulled it off. All characters have color of their own, but Irrfan, has just delivered a performance which will make him stand in league of extraordinary men. He is convincing as middle aged dacoit, and it is pleasant surprise that he looks as convincing as young army soldier running on track in shorts, which his wife thinks he shouldn't wear as women stare at them.

Mahie Gill has restricted territory but like in all her previous films, she has supported the scenes well. All other characters have just beautifully fallen in place. Director has not compromised with authenticity and has retained the language as spoken in the area where movie is set, don't worry English subtitles are there to help you out if you miss some of the dialogs.

The romance between husband and wife has been handled with gentleness, with sequences such as the couple sends their children to buy "lemon-choos" so that they get some time alone. The movie could have been crispier and shorter n second half when plot moves to Chambal as Paan plans to exact his revenge. Director has sensibly not inserted any songs in the movie as they are not required at all, compliments to the team for this common sense. The background score, especially during races compliments the beautiful cinematography.

Overall the movie is a treat to eyes and ears. A must watch ! Compliments to Tigmanshu as he just builds on the skill and craftsmanship he displayed in Haasil and Sahib Biwi aur Gulam. Dhulia leaves you with credits to forgotten heroes of sports who died penniless and without any recognition.

A die-hard patriot and an international level athlete who is forced to become a dacoit or should I say 'Baaghi'. Commendable performances by almost the entire cast right from Irrfan Khan to the nervous journalist (Bijendra Kala). Mahie Gill matches steps with Irrfan in a fiery and yet restrained performance. I hand my hat to Tigmanshu Dhulia for crisp dialogues, subtle humor and bringing out the Chambal live to you. You can actually feel the grime and dust of the infamous land. Needless to say Irrfan Khan has delivered superlative performance. He has defined what is called as an 'Effortless Performance'. I hope that this movie brings him the most deserved laurels as he brought the same to the movie. 'Irrfan Khan is Pan Singh Tomar'. Period.

India is probably one of the few countries in the world with various distinct cultures and their own history. In such a nation there were (and are) innumerous people whose life contains all ingredients for a nail-biting tales but sadly biopics are hardly explored in the country. Tigmanshu Dhulia showed guts to pen a script on one of unsung heroes of Indian sports Paan Singh Tomar and end result is a captivating cinema that explores many facets of our system. Paan Singh Tomar is an interesting journey of a loyal soldier and a brilliant athlete (infact a national pride) who transforms into a notorious "dacoit" thanks to the 'system". In a flashback mode the movie deals on the drastic transformation of this loyal army-man into a notorious dacoit (Baaghi as referred by Paan Singh himself). In a linear and simple story PST tells about the plight of an athlete who had brought honours for his own country. Negligence of system is highlighted through his sad tale and the story revolves on framework after independence when seeds of corruption & anti establishment were germinating in full swing. In one sequence Paan Singh tells a journalist that how he was ignored by media when he won medal in steeple chase race in an international army sports meet but now when he was in the other side of the law playing hide-and-seek with the police the journalists are pouring down to get interviews. Another pain stacking sequence shows Paan Singh going to local police to lodge a complaint but he was humiliated by the inspector and even insulted the gold medal which he won for his own country. Tigmanshu dhulia' eye for detailing needs to be acknowledged. While writing the script Dhulia ensured that the audiences identify with the character and gets involved with the proceedings. The crowds were cheering in the initial reels when Paan Singh's potential as an athlete was displayed following which his cry for justice which was put down by the corrupt system. As the film reaches the climax the neglected scenario of athletes indeed touches the emotional chords of the audience. Dhulia's execution makes you think as you leave the theatre. In terms of technicalities Editing and Art department deserves mention. Dhulia's direction is complimented by Irfan Khan who played the role of Paan Singh Tomar with perfection. His nuances, dialogs, expression, body language speaks about a perfect army men. Brownie points should be given to him for his efforts to shape his body at this age and mould himself as the young energetic athlete. His dialogue delivery in the later reels reflected the strive within as he becomes a rebel with a cause. "Bihad mein baghi hote hai, dacoit toh parliament mein bante hai" – this dialogue will be remembered in from now on. A performance that deserves full marks and demands awards, this one is easily one of Irfan's career best performances. The supporting casts were appropriate in their roles. Mahie Gill as Tomar's wife gave a good performance again. Vipin Sharma was a treat to watch in role of Major Masand, a senior to Tomar and one who believed in his potential. Brijendra Kala is as usual dependable and brought a comic flavour as a journalist. With the current scenario of the nation movies like Paan Singh Tomar needs to be made and promoted which injects "thoughts" inside audience in an entertaining way. It's when the movie ends, and the names of four Indian national champions who died penniless are shown, "Paan Singh Tomar" hits the most. Indeed a fitting tribute to unsung heroes of Indian sports. This movie needs to be watched and pondered upon. Tigmanshu Dhulia : Take a bow.

I watch Indian movies very selectively,after reading its review, I found it an extraordinary movie,no doubt it is one of the gems from Indian Cinema, no songs no dance ,an extraordinary story with superb acting by Irfann Khan, he is a true khan.

The simplicity shown by director in this movie is worth to be watched,Whosays that the big budgeted with so called super stars movies can be hit, but I think Irfan is a real super star.I must say here that the reviews written by Taran Adarsh must be avoided now that he gave only 3 stars to this movie.I recommend it for everyone who wants to have great time in watching movie,I bet, this movie will not disappoint you,I think it would be nominated for Oscars 2013.I am giving it 10/10.

A stunner.. An Indian Rambo, far far away from the horse-borne dacoits and cheesy dialogs of similar films. Reportedly based on the life and times of an Indian army subedar, the film is a piece of history. That an army man finds civilian life difficult is well known. But this man took up arms because of the failure of the civilian administration to address his problems, as well as the army's failure to intervene, or at least coordinate with the administration, so that an illustrious ex-army man like Paan Singh had to undergo the travails that he did.

This film is a lesson on how to make films, which are entertaining, and not over-the-top. It is also a history lesson, for those in power, who see this sort of tragedy occurring in the lives of common people, but do nothing, till trouble comes knocking at their own doors.

Hats off to the team of PAAN SINGH TOMAR - the film. May their tribe increase.

Somewhere in the sandy and hilly terrains of the Chambal where a normal human being never wished to visit even in the nightmare there lies a Man - an athlete – a sports person from soul- And a Dacoit now whose winning run for the great nation called India went unnoticed due to crippled ,undemocratic, corrupt political and administration system and forced him to taken his own route for justice- A path which make which more noticed and more popular amongst the country's newspaper, radio and Parliament than winning his gold medals Indian National Games seven times in a row.

The Movie opens up with a journalist who wants to interview the most terrible dacoit of the region Paan Singh Tomar and as the interview moves the story went into flashback. Paan Singh Tomar (Irrfan Khan) works in Army but his dietary supplement requirements moved him to the sport division of the army because there is no limit on diet in sports. Thou luckily his race talent got noticed by his senior to whom he delivered the ice cream at his home in just four minutes Unmelt. Soon he become National Champion in "Indian National Games" and later in "International Military Games" in 1967.But gradually his personal life takes over his Professional life, and the incidents after him changed the course of his life which tuned him from an athlete to a dacoit

The movie touches some serious issues of the Indian sports and Indian sports persons. In a scene where Pan Singh participated in Asian Games at Tokyo , the organizer gave him new spike shoes which become the cause of his defeat because the athlete never practiced with those shoes earlier and sponsors want to show that India can afford spike shoes shows the level of training in the country even applicable today .In a second scene where the coach requested Pan singh to withdrew his name from 5000 mts race else coach's kin would have been lost that race shows again that the super sportsman you know may not be the best because the best was never given the chance. In a third scene where a villager was given bribe in terms of recruiting the villager's son in the Indian army again shows that all in the Indian military may not have joined the army to serve the nation but to serve their selfish motives. Fourth and very important the scene where the Paan Singh Tomar went to police station to file a FIR against his relatives who has grabbed his land unlawfully and beaten up his son helpless and was insulted and rejected shows the system's efficiency to tackle an issue which turns a common man into a rebel – A Dacoit

Paan Singh Tomar also helps to think deepens into the political arena and government arrangements for the promotion of SPORTS not cricket because cricket is so over-hyped and overpaid that sponsors in the previous past has marketed it as a religion and few players as Demi- GODs that the other sports in India per say are lying on the stretcher waiting for the medicines of hope and support from the sponsors and government.

Paan Singh Tomar may not celebrate the spirit of win like 'Chak de India' or "Jo jeeta wohi sikandar" But it does celebrates the spirit the True Sportsmanship and it does it perfectly & flawlessly-Kuods

Boosted By An Excellent Performance by Irfan Khan and the rest of the cast, and a meaningful and good story, Pan Singh Tomar is one of the better bollywood movies which has great performances from the cast, a great story which is worth telling, and Irfan Khan just makes it better with his excellent portrayel of his character.

The Story is about a Daku(Dacoit)(Irfan) who was actually a soldier who fought for his country and could give it all for his country who then became a runner and wins gold medal at the Indian national games, but is forced to become a Dacoit after being neglected and insulted by the Police,and his mission is to rebel and defy the police department.

Irfan Khan is one of the few Hollywood worthy actors in bollywood, and probably the best at what he does, he yet again shows his excellent acting qualities in this movie by giving an excellent performance as Paan Singh Tomar, and he has shown the change of his character from a strict soldier to a notorious dacoit with utmost skill. The Rest of the cast also does a very good job in making this into a very well acted movie.

The Director does a decent job in making this film into one of the sensible movies made in bollywood, and good job from him for giving Irfan a perfect role in the movie. The Story which is based on a true story about the same man, is great and shows how many extremely talented athletes in India are neglected by the government and how they can become notorious at times.

Overall this movie is great due to mainly an excellent performance by Irfan Khan and a great story, to make this into one of the better movies of 2012 till now.

My Rating: 7.8/10

Paan Singh Tomar: Irfan Khan is one the greatest actors that we have in India. N...o Doubt. He takes the script to superlative levels. The dialogues are amusing and situations really funny and not crass. His transformation from a national level athlete to a dacoit in the Chambal Valley makes for a rare story. How many such stories have we heard of. Having gone through what Paan goes through its really easy to understand and empathise with the character Paan especially since he picks up arms when all else fails. He approaches all the govt machinery disposable to him..the army , collector and the no good bribe taking , dishonest, lazy unscrupulous Indian police who instead of protecting the citizens instead loots and harasses them and don't we all know that. One wants to run in the opposite direction when one has to deal with police in India and that's the truth none can deny. Paan knows that the unlawful path will lead to his death but to live under such suppression was just not acceptable to him anymore. In my mind Had it been me, i would have taken that coaching job that being an Olympian offered along with cushy discounts at army canteen and a peaceful retirement life on army pension with family.But in my mind I also want to shoot these stupid police guys who tell me not to take the route to my own home at the Aarey Colony. Thank God then that i have movies to pent out my emotions through Pan Singh Tomar.

Absolute Fantastic. Movie run around army athletic turned BAGI Paan Singh Tomar. Story is great and direction is much great. Very catching direction and story. There is no slot in movie when you get bored.

Irfan Khan is superb. He has done really great. There is a real social issue also. This is truth of rural India which politician are ignoring. When Paan Singh won national medal no body cares but when he kidnap some leader then everybody talks about him. This is still true in India. Tigmanshu Dhulia has done his best and he must be credited with full marks. Irfan Khan and Mahi Gil support him well. in short it is worth to watch the movie.

Paan Singh Tomar is a good film, with some excellent moments and definitely worth a watch. Having said that, there are aspects of it that stop it from being considered in the exalted company of great cinema.

For one, the editing is a choppy in bits, moving from one scene to another rather abruptly. The titular characters motivations after achieving his main objective as a 'Baaghi' was not sketched out with one having to wonder, why does he keep doing this, what is the end goal. He's shown in too much of a positive light, which is a stark contrast to his actions. Probably, those bits were left on the editing table to make the film compact, but given the other wonderful aspects of the movie, you do wish that it was included somehow to give the story a sense of completeness.

Now coming to the good parts. Irrfan, excellent as always. The way he emotes through his eyes and body language is probably the best in the industry, if not one of the best in the world. You can feel Paan Singh's pain, anger, fleeting joys and viciousness radiating out of him, even in silence. Although, I did express qualms about the choppy editing and missing bits, the overall story is well paced and told, at no moment, lagging in pace. The side characters do a good enough job in sketchy parts, but the movie about Paan Singh Tomar, sticks completely around the central character throughout the duration, and with Irrfan playing it to such excellence, I doubt if anyone would complain.

Overall, it is a good film, that could have been an excellent film but for a few minor blips. Given the usual fare of movies, this definitely rises above the crowd.

I loved the film,as it was really meant to give tribute to the unsung heroes of Indian sports history.Moreover Irfan Khan could portray the role of Paan Singh with his acting talent,which brought an overall originality to the character.Along with that the cinematographer is appreciated for snapping the scenes with a real artistic view.

On one hand the film is truly recommended for the action loving movie fans. On the other hand,the film continued the trend of narration of the past with the help of a co-star(in this case the newspaper reporter),like Irfan Khan's hit movies like Life Of Pie.Also i couldn't get the reason ,why the film was awarded national award in the category of best film.

Overall I suggest it as above average.

Irrfan Khan to post-Y2K audience is like Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri of pre-Y2K cinema rolled into one. Though that might be a exaggeration given the small body of work he has done, but films like Namesake, and Paan Singh Tomar puts him in the list of such elites. He gets into the role. He looks the character he is performing. One hell of a power-packed performance by Irrfan. He carries the entire film on his shoulder. The direction, the characters and characterization, background music, almost everything in this movie is top-notch. To make it even classier, I thought the camera work could have even been classier. Regardless, its a must watch movie for any serious movie lover.

A Biopic is not the most interesting genre of film. However, Bollywood has made two memorable biopics in the past few years. Paan Singh Tomar is based on the life of a national steeplechase champion who did not get the recognition that he deserved and eventually became a dacoit in order to have his name printed in newspapers.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, which was based on the life of Milkha Singh, has borrowed some elements from this magnificent movie which has managed to restore my faith in this genre.

Paan Singh Tomar is played by Irrfan Khan who gives a career-best performance which is quite impressive considering the number of notable movies he has made. He plays the character in a nuanced manner that incorporates the unique dialect from his native place in Madhya Pradesh. The dedication to his role is palpable as he transforms himself, both physically and mentally, to play someone who has a lot of anger inside him due to the apathy of the Army and the Indian Media for not giving him his due recognition.

Paan Singh Tomar epitomizes the struggle of athletes in India to gain recognition despite endless hard work and complete apathy from the government. There are a lot of changes that must be implemented to ensure that these athletes get proper training and diet to give their best performance.

This movie is one of the finest to have come out from Bollywood. The producers must be given credit to back such a film in which the protagonist was largely unknown to the masses. The film accurately depicts the lifestyle in villages and the authenticity is further escalated by the unique dialect that all the characters use. Watch Irrfan Khan give one of the most memorable performance by an Indian actor.