Kasoombo Review | An Untold Story of Grit, Valour and the Ultimate Sacrifice

Kasoombo

                 
Cast: Raunaq Kamdar, Dharmendra Gohil, Darshan Pandya, Darshan Pandya

Critics Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Director: Vijaygiri Bava

Duration: 2 hours, 36 mins

Genre: History, True Story

Language: Hindi (dubbed from Gujarati)

Synopsis

Adapted from Vimalkumar Dhami's novel 'Amar Balidan', this is a true story of a bunch of villagers who stood up against one of history's most diabolical villains and his untamed obsession to conquer India. 

Review

2nd May 2024: When roughly translated, 'Kasumboo' means some sort of an addiction. And that is exactly what this historical drama depicts and in much bloody detail at that. It's an utold story of the grit, valour and the ultimate sacrifice of a handful of villagers in a small town in Saurashtra that had always remained hidden from the exploitation and rampant greed of the heartless invaders, who wanted to plunder the princely states of the country and rule the nation.

The most dreadful among them was Alauddin Khalji (Darshan Pandya). whose manic obsession to conquer the world knew no bounds. But among all the bloodsoaked battles he fought, this tale of a small town remains shrouded in mystery and a topic of debate over just how strong willed its people were. For them the might of Khalji was nothing when it came to the love for their land and independence. And so, they decided to combat it with the ultimate sacrifice. 

Director Vijaygiri Bava and his writers Raam Mori, Vijaygiri Bava take their time to set the stage for the final face off that we all know is eventually going to happen. Based on the novel Amar Balidan by Vimalkumar Dhami, 'Kasumboo' introduces its characters with a single focus of patriotism and readiness to lay their lives for their land.

 Through its various characters and scenes leading up to a gruesome and spooky climax, the makers infuse a lot of ancient Gujarati culture, brotherhood and the interpersonal relationships between the characters. On the other hand, the exploits of Alauddin Khalji are also well documented but all of it with dramatic overtones reminiscent of Gujarati plays. It's loud but impactful but still it doesn't prepare the audience for what they are in for in the last 10 minutes of the film. Performances by the leads Raunaq Kamdar as Amar Barot and Shraddha Dangar as Sujan are good. Darshan Pandya does well in bringing out the scare for Khalji. We wish the makers had dived a little deeper into Khalji's personal life as well.

The background score and the music by Mehul Surti play a big role in elevating the experience of constant tension and the ultimate battelfield scenes. For a film based on historical battles, 'Kasoombo' surely has a lot more talk than action but it's all in the run up to its blood curdling climax. And in the end when the last scene rolls, you wonder why this story of unsurmountable courage and unconditional love for one's motherland has never been told on the silver screen before.