Jeet Ki Zid Review: Amit Sadh’s Heart Is In The Right Place

Jeet Ki Zid(Zee5, 7 Episodes)

Starring Amit  Sadh,Amrita Puri

Directed by  Vishal Mangalorkar

Rating: 3.5 stars

There is  something  about inspirational stories , particularly  those  about soldiers, that fills  our heart with  gratitude. Jeet Ki Zid chronicles  the  astonishing life saga  of  Major Deependra Singh Sengar who  almost lost his life, and then hobbled  back to  glory on crutches  to  run freely again after the doctors told him he  would never walk.

Surely this is  story that needed  to be told.Ek bio-pic toh banta hai,boss!  I wish  the end-product had been more polished and professional. The  production values  are  below par specially in the earlier episodes where the  soldier-terrorist encounters  are  shot in  what looks like a storeroom turned into a makeshift  shooting location. 

Then   there is a  commanding officer who speaks his lines as  if he was reading from  a tele-prompter. Of course since he is  an armyman he throws  in the  occasional ‘f…king’ to drive in his point.  You can’t be in the army without swearing (and drinking). 

Funnier still is veteran  actor Sushant Singh(no relation to you-know-who) whose  portrayal of the blustering  bullying swearing and sadistic  colonel Ranjeet Chowdhary is  a textbook study  of army colonialism in cinema. We’ve been watching such  army seniors bully new cadets since The  Officer  & A Gentleman. Such abuse cannot be  condoned or justified , no matter how noble the intentions.

What redeems this series and  makes its amateurish  characterizations and  execution condonable, is its  nobility  of heart  and the sheer gloriousness  of the subject. For me the  biggest takeaway  from this chequered  effort is the appearance  of the real-life  Deependra Singh Sengar at  the end  of every episode. His  presence  gives the series of a heft and a gravitas far  beyond what it  deserves.

Then there is Amit Sadh whose  portrayal of  the  never-say-die   soldier is suffused  with  genuiness and credibility. The  scenes  of his physical training are so real I found myself  wincing when the  physically disabled   Sadh tries to pick himself up from his  bed in a tent with no support, or when the sadistic colonel  kicks him on the ground. These are  not faked stunts.  AmitSadh lives through  Colonal Senger’s ordeal. It’s  a performance brimming over with  honesty and authenticity.  Amrita Puri  is right by his side doing Sridevi’s Chandni  to her wheelchair-bound fiancé with  an earnestness to match her  co-star.

If only the series was able to  muster  up a commensurate level of  technical polish.Luckily the rough edges  do not take  away from  the genuine  feelings at  the core of  the presentation.