''Shaurya'' ( ''Valour'') is a 2008 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

legal drama Legal drama, also called courtroom drama, is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in wh ...

film directed by Samar Khan and produced by Moser Baer. The film stars Kay Kay Menon, Rahul Bose, Javed Jaffrey, Deepak Dobriyal, and Minissha Lamba. The film is based on the 1991 Hindi play ''Court Martial'' by

Swadesh Deepak Swadesh Deepak (born 1943) is an Indian playwright, novelist and short-story writer. Deepak has been active on the Hindi literary scene since the mid-1960s and is best known for ''Court Martial,'' a 1991 play. Deepak's most recent book is ''Main ...

and the 1992 American film ''

A Few Good Men ''A Few Good Men'' is a 1992 American legal drama film based on Aaron Sorkin's 1989 play, produced by Castle Rock Entertainment, financed and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was written by Sorkin, directed by Rob Reiner, and produced ...

'' (the latter being an adaptation of the 1989 play of the same name by

Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, playwright and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a writer for stage, television, and film, Sorkin is recognized f ...

about US marine David Cox). The film was released on 4 April 2008, and critics praised the performances of the lead actors, in particular Kay Kay Menon and Javed Jaffrey .

Plot

The film opens in the Pulwama district of

Jammu and Kashmir (union territory) Jammu and Kashmir ( J&K) is a region administered by India as a union territory and consists of the southern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan sin ...

, where a group of Indian Army soldiers carries out a counter-insurgency operation. During the mission, an army officer is shot and killed by a fellow officer, Captain Javed Khan, who then surrenders to his colleagues without resistance. The narrative shifts to

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, introducing Major Siddhant Chaudhary and Major Akash Kapoor, close friends and army lawyers with contrasting personalities. Akash is a disciplined and dedicated officer, while Siddhant, the carefree son of a highly decorated army officer, is reluctant about his military career. Following Akash’s marriage and subsequent posting to

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, Siddhant requests and secures a transfer to the same location. Upon arrival, the two are assigned opposing roles in the court martial of Captain Javed Khan, accused of murdering Major Virendra Singh Rathore. Siddhant is initially uninterested in the case and considers it an open-and-shut matter. However, his encounter with journalist Kavya Shastri, who is investigating the case, challenges his outlook. Kavya's probing questions and criticism of Siddhant’s unprofessionalism inspire him to approach the case more seriously. As Siddhant investigates further, he becomes suspicious of inconsistencies in the official narrative. His visit to Brigadier Pratap, the commanding officer of both Javed and Rathore, reveals evasive behavior. With help from Kavya and new evidence, Siddhant begins to suspect a larger cover-up. He discovers that Major Rathore had a record of human rights abuses and that Javed may have acted to prevent further atrocities. Despite pressure from his superiors and opposition from Akash, Siddhant declares Javed not guilty in court and commits to proving his innocence. Javed, moved by Siddhant’s sincerity, finally opens up and provides documents supporting his version of events. Kavya’s investigation reveals numerous complaints of misconduct against both Rathore and Brigadier Pratap. Siddhant’s defense gains momentum, but a key witness, Captain R. P. Singh, disappears and later dies by suicide after confessing the truth to Siddhant. Left without direct testimony, Siddhant decides to call Brigadier Pratap to the witness stand. In court, Siddhant exposes Pratap’s personal trauma and ideological bias, which had influenced his actions and led to the wrongful prosecution of Javed. In the end, the military court finds Captain Javed Khan not guilty and reinstates his rank and honors. An official inquiry is ordered into Brigadier Pratap's conduct.

Cast

* Rahul Bose as

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Siddhant "Sid" Chaudhary * Kay Kay Menon as

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Rudra Pratap Singh * Javed Jaffrey as Major Akash Kapoor * Minissha Lamba as Journalist Kavya Shastri * Deepak Dobriyal as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Javed Khan *

Seema Biswas Seema Biswas (born 14 January 1965) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and the theatre. She gained prominence after playing the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur, Shekhar Kapur's film ''Bandit Queen'' (1994), for which she won the ...

as Mrs. Khan *

Pavan Malhotra Pavan Malhotra (born 2 July 1958) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films and television alongside Punjabi and few Telugu films. He has received several awards including a Filmfare OTT Award and a Filmfare Award South. He has played ...

Army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warra ...

Aditya Lakhia Aditya Lakhia is an Indian character actor. He did his schooling from Mayo College, Ajmer and graduation from St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad. He began his acting career in 1988 playing small roles and worked as an assistant director in '' A ...

as Captain R. P. Singh * Ravi Gossain as Captain Passbola * Jeneva Talwar as Nandini Kapoor, Akash's fiancé turned wife * Denzil Smith as Brigadier P. P. V. Nair *

Subrat Dutta Subrata Dutta (born 16 November 1975) is an actor who appears in Indian films. He is best known for his role in Bollywood films like Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, ''Talaash'', ''Tango Charlie'', Zameen (2003 film), ''Zameen'', ''The Shaukeen ...

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Malhotra *

Pankaj Tripathi Pankaj Tripathi, born as Pankaj Tiwari (5 September 1976), is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi films and series. He is the recipient of two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. After studying acting at the National School ...

as Major Virendra Singh Rathore *

Bikramjeet Kanwarpal Major (rank), Major Bikramjeet Kanwarpal (29 August 1968 1 May 2021) was an Indian film and television actor. A retired army officer, Kanwarpal had played supporting roles in many films and television serials. Kanwarpal shared screen space wit ...

as Colonel Inyat Khan * Amrita Rao as Nirja Rathore (Major Rathore's widow) * Amar Talwar as Brigadier Saxena *

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...

as Narrator in the end credits

Soundtrack

* "Dheere Dheere" * "Ghabra Ke Dar Dar Ke" * "Jaane Kyun Jaane Maan" * "Dosti Kya Hai" -

Udit Narayan Udit Narayan Jha (born 1 December 1955) is an Nepali and Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured mainly in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. He has also sung in various other languages including Telugu language, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil ...

Abhijeet Bhattacharya Abhijeet Bhattacharya (born 30 October 1958), professionally known as Abhijeet, is an Indian playback singer who primarily sings in the Hindi film industry. As well as Hindi, he has sung in his native language Bengali and in other languages inc ...

* "Shaurya" - Kunal Ganjawala

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, Shaurya, Shaurya 2008 films Military courtroom films Indian war films 2000s Hindi-language films Indian crime drama films Indian legal thriller films 2008 crime drama films Indian Army in films Films scored by Surinder Sodhi Films set in Jammu and Kashmir Indian courtroom films Indian drama films Indian legal drama films Indian films based on plays Films about lawyers Military courtroom dramas Fiction about courts-martial Films based on multiple works Films set in Delhi Kashmir conflict in films Films about Islamic terrorism in India Films about prejudice Films shot in Srinagar Films shot in Jammu and Kashmir Indian nonlinear narrative films Films about mutinies Films about journalists Hindi-language films based on actual events Films about human rights Films about religious violence in India Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir Films about social issues in India Films about rape in India Films about mass murder Films based on adaptations Films about child death

Plot

Cast

Soundtrack

See also

References

External links