Kesari Veer

Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India criticised the film for promoting communal bias under the guise of historical fiction. He described the film as a "162-minute slog" that robotically checks off markers of provocative cinema, labelling it Islamophobic, hate-mongering, and misinformative. Desai argued that the film uses a loosely interpreted 14th-century tale of a Rajput warrior defending the Somnath temple from the Tughlaq Empire as a vehicle to demonise Muslims in contemporary India.^[15]

Rishabh Suri Hindustan Times gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5 and criticised the VFX, song placements, and performances.^[16] Dhaval Roy of Times of India gave the film 2 stars out of 5, feeling the film was grand in scope but faltered due to inconsistencies, length, uneven storytelling, and overdramatization.^[17] Bollywood Hungama gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5, strongly criticizing the VFX as "one of the biggest culprits of the film" and labeling the film as "a poor man’s Chhaava and Baahubali."^[18]

Mayur Sanap of Rediff.com gave the film half a star out of 5, similarly pointing out its similarities with Baahubali and Chhaava aside from Padmaavat and Kesari.^[19] Sana Farzeen of India Today gave 2.5 stars and said that "Kesari Veer, despite its grand scale and star cast, fails to deliver a compelling historical drama. The film's poor execution and weak CGI undermine its potential impact."^[20] Ganesh Aaglave of Firstpost gave 2 stars out of 5 and said that "On the whole, Kesari Veer is a wasted potential opportunity, which could have turned out into an engaging magnum opus."^[21]

Alaka Sahani of The Indian Express rated 1.5/5 stars and said "The filmrelies heavily on gimmicks instead of attention to detail, nuance."^[22] Chirag Sehgal of News18 rated 1.5/5 stars and said "Despite its noble intention to celebrate a forgotten hero, the film ends up being a noisy, disjointed and exhausting experience."^[23] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare rated 2.5/5 stars and writes that "All-in-all, Kesari Veer needed better writing, direction and editing. It’s a clear case of opportunity lost."^[24]

• Kesari Veer at IMDb
• Kesari Veer at Bollywood Hungama