[7] It stars Vicky Kaushal in the title role, alongside Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Neeraj Kabi, Edward Sonnenblick and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub.
In 1962, the Sino-Indian War erupts, leading to the army being trounced by the Chinese; Kaul resigns while Nehru dismisses Menon.
On the advice of Indira Gandhi, Nehru has Manekshaw promoted to lieutenant-general and assigns him as commanding officer of the IV Corps, Tezpur.
In response, Yahya authorises Tikka, now a lieutenant-general, to initiate Operation Searchlight – a massive anti-Bengali pogrom, which he executes with ruthless efficiency.
The opposing armies witness profound clashes, with Pakistan bearing numerous casualties on land, sea and air in both sectors.
With Manekshaw's retirement approaching, Indira has him promoted to the rank of field-marshal in recognition of his wartime leadership, which he proudly accepts in January 1973.
[9] In 2017 Meghna Gulzar narrated the story of the biopic on Sam Manekshaw to Kaushal at the sets of Raazi which she planned to make her next film.
[15] She then went for years of extensive research and writing collaborating with Bhavani Iyer and Shantanu Srivastava, also meeting with family members of Sam Manekshaw.
[30] Filming took place in Mumbai, Pune, Jodhpur, Pataudi, Chandigarh, Ooty, Dehradun, Kolkata,[31] Patiala,[32] Srinagar, Pahalgam,[33] and Delhi.
Catherine Bray of The Guardian rated the film 3 stars and stated "It's a perennial problem for biopics; how to give events the momentum of fiction when the underlying narrative is fact.
"[46] Subhash K. Jha of Times Now rated 3.5 stars out of 5, critisied "I am afraid Vicky Kaushal, a reasonably talented actor, is not equal to the task.
"[47] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave a rating 2.5/5 and wrote "It's hard to play a character so closely without becoming a caricature, but Kaushal becomes Sam Bahadur.
"[52] Anusha Sundar for The New Indian Express reviewed and wrote "Sam Bahadur is unfortunately apathetic to both its protagonist and the audience.
"[53] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare rated the movie 3.5/5 stars and observed "Vicky Kaushal channels his inner Dev Anand to play the title character.
"[54] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in observed "The greatest hits approach leans on recorded history rather than compelling fiction for dramatic momentum.
"[56] Tatsam Mukherjee of The Wire stated "Sam Bahadur is a painfully ‘safe’ film that is in much awe of its protagonist..."[57] Writing a review for Rediff.com, Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain praised Meghna Gulzar's effort and stated "You have to grant it to Meghna's research team and those sourcing military hardware for the film.