Kesari Hindi DVD - By Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra, Latest Hindi Movie

In this spectacular war movie depicting the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi, 21 heroic Sikhs soldiers defend a remote British outpost against 10,000 Afghan tribesmen. The Sikhs do not fight for their British colonizers; they fight to honor their religion, an innate desire for freedom, the abiding love for their families and the farms they left behind. The director skillfully weaves in the backstory of the 21 soldiers, connecting the audience to their dreams and desires. One soldier dreams of his feisty wife who mystically appears when he touches the handkerchief she gave him that he keeps tucked inside his uniform. Another soldier wants to bring his shoeless father back a pair of leather shoes. A bridegroom yearns for his beloved. The attention to historical detail is impressive: The costumes, weapons and fort are authentic as is the tension between the Sikh regiment and the British Commander who fails to send reinforcements dooming the Sikhs to hand to hand combat and martyrdom. The plot and acting are superb, the final sword fight epic. The courage and skill of the Sikh leader rivals Achilles's. This film is one of the finest depictions of an historical battle I have ever seen.

Excellent and inspiring movie. I loved the cinematography with the scenic mountain views and the crystal clear photography. Very scenic. I learned a little about Sikh military tradition, and I totally agree with their feeling of wanting to be free men and not slaves to the British. The one British officer who was arrogant and disrespectful was a complete jerk with his phony sense of superiority who didn't seem to realize that if it wasn't for the Sikh soldiers, he wouldn't have a military command and would probably be dead at the hands of the Afghans. He finally showed respect to the Sikh soldiers by saluting them after they died doing their duty (as free men who chose to do their duty).I learned about this battle, and it reminds me of the Battle of the Alamo in American history or the Battle of Thermopylae in Greek history.A lot of duty, honor, and respect in this movie.Excellent music too - great tunes and rythmn. Excellent vocals as well.I'm an American who speaks only English, but I had no problem understanding what was going on in the movie. The English subtitles that were provided were adequate, and even when only non-English subtitles were present, it was easy enough to understand what was going on by watching the film (what I call situational interpretation)An all around excellent movie. I'm going to buy this movie because its a keeper as far as I'm concerned.

I enjoyed the storyline, the actors were charming, the dialogue was great, good humor, a glimpse of Sihk culture and wisdom. It was a great battle movie. Amazing true story!

Kesari is a cross between Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and The Birth of a Nation. Whatever basis in history it may gesture at is lost in the absurd antics of its ultimate warrior type hero and the jaw-dropping racism of its ethnic stereotyping.It was hard not to groan and/or giggle as the Ultimate Warrior lead guy proclaims the sacredness and nobility of stuff like the Saffron Turban and other proud super masculine ethno-nationalist emblems. And so, meanwhile, outside the walls of his colonial border fort, a huge rabble of Indian extras dressed up in grubby feed sacks and heavy eyeliner scrum and sweat in the dirt with tinfoil swords realizing Anurag Singh's hateful and distorted vision of Afghanis / Muslims. Most are eventually mown down like weeds by the Punjabi heroes defending a British Alamo.Singh is not afraid to "go there" --i.e. use all the cheap, rankly prejudicial gags in the cinematic bag--in so many ways. Early in the war between Singh's polished golden Punjabis and his masses of Muslim goblins, the Hero faces off with a transvestite or transgender sniper on the Afghans' side. The trans person is plastered in rough lipstick etc, sneaks around like one of DW Griffith's blackface characters taking pot shots from behind rocks with a fanciful rifle, runs with hands up and wrist flapping at one point, and is finally annihilated with explosives by the hero. On and on it goes from there, too ugly and cringe-inducing to tally.

The scenery in the movie was fabulous. Cast did a wonderful job. English subtitles are hidden in the menu. The Persian dialog does not last long in the movie. The director intentionally left off the English translation for it, to illustrate that there is a culture difference between Indians and Afghans. (I.e. not all brown people come from the same culture). Great action and very emotional movie of a true event in history showing the bravery and honor of Sikhs--defending all women across cultures--and in aid of the British army who were nearly defeated by the Afghans. I don't know how accurate each scene is, likely reflecting the creativity of the writer and director; but I do know the themes are very true, like defending women, super Sikhs fighting strongly while dying, barbaric Muslims back in the day, the humorous personality nature of Sikhs, the arrogance of British soldiers, and Sikhs' dedication to the Turban. Well, I liked it!