After a terrible performance in Sadak 2, Sanjay Dutt is now back on the digital screen with his latest release, Torbaaz. Directed by Girish Malik, the film also stars actors Rahul Dev and Nargis Fakhri in supporting roles. With a sensitive and crucial topic at its core, the film aims to highlight the importance of hope even in the most tragic circumstances. We watched the film today and here’s our review for you.

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An ex-Army doctor in Afghanistan with a mission

Sanjay Dutt plays the role of an ex-Army doctor, Naseer Khan, who loses his wife and son in a suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan. Five years later, he’s invited back to Afghanistan by Ayesha (Nargis Fakhri) to help with the NGO, Tomorrow’s Hope, set up by his late wife Meera. The NGO works towards rehabilitating and supporting refugee children and their families. Hesitant at first, Naseer agrees to put his trauma behind him to help the children. He decides to train them in cricket with a hope to transform their lives through joy and purpose. However, soon he realises that there’s a lot more at stake with some children being recruited by the Taliban as suicide bombers.

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Torbaaz speaks about an important topic — the involvement of young children in terrorist activities. They are brainwashed into believing that killing the enemy would help them get glory in the afterlife. While the film doesn’t dive into details of such recruitments, it covers the importance of positive influence well. Through healthy competition, Naseer drives the kids towards the sport thereby giving them a purpose in life.

Having been shot in Afghanistan and Bishkek, the film has some really beautiful visuals too. The only drawback for Torbaaz is the lack of clarity in the first half. In an attempt to merge different angles, the script somewhat stumbles and leads to a bit of confusion. Nargis Fakhri is great as Ayesha but her role could have been explored further. Rahul Dev does a wonderful job with the accent and body language as a Taliban leader, Qasar.

Torbaaz review: Final thoughts

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If you’ve watched Sadak 2, you should watch Torbaaz. It will probably help you get over the trauma of seeing Sanjay Dutt bomb on screen. With a few flaws here and there, Torbaaz still manages to keep you engaged. The child actors, especially, are really good. All in all, I’d say you can definitely watch the film once. It is a positive addition to this year’s releases after big fails like Laxmii, Miss India, and Panga.

Torbaaz is streaming now on Netflix.

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