India, March 5 -- It has been fascinating to watch how our viewing habits have evolved. From the days of appointment viewing, we moved to the play pause culture of OTT. Today, content seems to sort itself rather neatly into two kinds: films that demand to be experienced on the big screen, and those you are perfectly content to wait for until they arrive on streaming.

Subedaar, oddly enough, feels like both. For the first hour, it convinces you this is a film that could have exploded in theatres. But by the time it winds down, you are left with the nagging feeling that it might actually belong to the second category, and not for the right reasons.

Directed by Suresh Triveni, Subedaar unfolds in the hinterlands. A retired Army officer, Ar...