First stings first: Akaal: The Unconquered is a furiously entertaining period film where the periodicity is not over-punctuated; strong storytelling is.

Akaal is more pan-India in mood and intent than any Hindi-language action film I’ve seen in recent times. Its gritty storytelling green flags valour and cultural pride without seeming like a propaganda machine. To those of you out there not familiar with Punjabi cinema, let me inform you: the scale of presentation here is vastly upgraded , from economy to business, as compared with anything we’ve seen in Punjabi.

The camera loves the toasted-brown milieu and the rustic characters. Cinematographer Baljit Singh Deo lenses the ruggedness with visible camaraderie. The action sequences are choreographed with visceral vigour. The focus is not on the gruesome, but the skill, the craft that goes into hand-to-hand combats.

Standing tall at the vortex of the dramatic dissension is Punjab’s no. 1 star,...