(Karthik Narayan)
Going to a movie is always fun, but it is important to choose the right movie. I had a variety to choose from Salaam Namaste, Rising (Mangal Pandey) were the two movie names which came to my mind. But then I was surprised to hear that a movie by Nagesh Kukunoor had released and the theme was CRICKET! Being an avid cricket fan how could I ever afford to overlook this one!
This story entirely revolves around Iqbal Khan, a deaf and mute 18 year old and his ambition of playing for the Indian cricket team as a fast bowler. His physically challenged state never hampers his ambition, his greatest strength is his commitment and his desire to chase his dreams no matter what happens. His never-say-die attitude is the highlight of the entire movie.
Impediments and blocks are always a part of our life, and Iqbal faces enough obstacles in the nature of his father who hates cricket, and enough politics in the game itself.
Then hope and inspiration comes in the form of angels his sister and mother help him on with encouragement, and his drunkard coach moulds his cricket.
Emotions run very high in the movie, naturally one is moved the way Shreyas Talpade as Iqbal is totally determined to realize his dream of playing for the team, and the scenes where he forces the deposed Naseeruddin Shah to come out of his drunken state and make him as his coach are too good for words. Can you believe that he is a debutant in Bollywood?? Really amazing talent!
Shweta Prasad plays Iqbal's sister and her bubbly wisdom is a total show stopper. Girish Karnad and Naseeruddin are underrated stalwarts in our movies. Naseeruddin especially acts magnificently with his subtle facial expressions. The background music which has been tuned by Salim-Suleiman blend with the on screen moods, euphoric and sad happenings are beautifully set alive with the music.
Our involvement in the movie becomes very emotional, we feel and breathe every moment of agony in the life of a 18 year old, and in the end, we spontaneously want to make Iqbal win, to win in his attempt to play for the National team, to don the colors of blue and bliss as he marks his run up to bowl. Ultimately the ecstasy on the face of the young man naturally brings total delight to all our faces and it is an outburst that I also felt. One of happiness, those tearful joyous moments on screen.
Poverty is another aspect that has been subtly depicted in the scenes where Iqbal runs in the "nets" to bowl his balls with barefeet! Even the stone-cold hearted people would be totally touched to the core of their hearts in this movie. The movie goes beyond the game, and the dirty authorities and politics. It deals with a positive message for all those watching that ONE SHOULD NEVER GIVE UP IN LIFE.
Nagesh Kukunoor, an American Desi (he hails from Andhra Pradesh and lived in America for a while) has been a revelation in the movie industry he became an overnight celebrity with his "Hyderabad Blues". Being one of the youngest directors around and with a sound mind and fantastic themes such as "Bollywood calling", "Rockford" and "teen deewarein", he has rocked the Bollywood basement with meaningful, simple themes based on actual incidents. Even though these movies weren't as successful as Hyderabad blues, they were eye openers to all of us that a great director is present amongst us.
This movie combines the sentiments reflected in BLACK and LAGAAN, but then again, the theme is different from those movies. So a comparison may not be quit e fair.
One might dare to say this is different from Lagaan where in the end, Amir Khan holds our breaths with the heave for a six at the end, carrying all of us to the edges of our seats. If you expected such heroics, you will indeed be disappointed.
Overall one can say that this is a great movie and one that brings tears out of us, also presenting a strong message of FAITH and determination. Great movie, great cast and hats off once again to Nagesh Kukunoor! Get your money's worth, folks
Going to a movie is always fun, but it is important to choose the right movie. I had a variety to choose from Salaam Namaste, Rising (Mangal Pandey) were the two movie names which came to my mind. But then I was surprised to hear that a movie by Nagesh Kukunoor had released and the theme was CRICKET! Being an avid cricket fan how could I ever afford to overlook this one!
This story entirely revolves around Iqbal Khan, a deaf and mute 18 year old and his ambition of playing for the Indian cricket team as a fast bowler. His physically challenged state never hampers his ambition, his greatest strength is his commitment and his desire to chase his dreams no matter what happens. His never-say-die attitude is the highlight of the entire movie.
Impediments and blocks are always a part of our life, and Iqbal faces enough obstacles in the nature of his father who hates cricket, and enough politics in the game itself.
Then hope and inspiration comes in the form of angels his sister and mother help him on with encouragement, and his drunkard coach moulds his cricket.
Emotions run very high in the movie, naturally one is moved the way Shreyas Talpade as Iqbal is totally determined to realize his dream of playing for the team, and the scenes where he forces the deposed Naseeruddin Shah to come out of his drunken state and make him as his coach are too good for words. Can you believe that he is a debutant in Bollywood?? Really amazing talent!
Shweta Prasad plays Iqbal's sister and her bubbly wisdom is a total show stopper. Girish Karnad and Naseeruddin are underrated stalwarts in our movies. Naseeruddin especially acts magnificently with his subtle facial expressions. The background music which has been tuned by Salim-Suleiman blend with the on screen moods, euphoric and sad happenings are beautifully set alive with the music.
Our involvement in the movie becomes very emotional, we feel and breathe every moment of agony in the life of a 18 year old, and in the end, we spontaneously want to make Iqbal win, to win in his attempt to play for the National team, to don the colors of blue and bliss as he marks his run up to bowl. Ultimately the ecstasy on the face of the young man naturally brings total delight to all our faces and it is an outburst that I also felt. One of happiness, those tearful joyous moments on screen.
Poverty is another aspect that has been subtly depicted in the scenes where Iqbal runs in the "nets" to bowl his balls with barefeet! Even the stone-cold hearted people would be totally touched to the core of their hearts in this movie. The movie goes beyond the game, and the dirty authorities and politics. It deals with a positive message for all those watching that ONE SHOULD NEVER GIVE UP IN LIFE.
Nagesh Kukunoor, an American Desi (he hails from Andhra Pradesh and lived in America for a while) has been a revelation in the movie industry he became an overnight celebrity with his "Hyderabad Blues". Being one of the youngest directors around and with a sound mind and fantastic themes such as "Bollywood calling", "Rockford" and "teen deewarein", he has rocked the Bollywood basement with meaningful, simple themes based on actual incidents. Even though these movies weren't as successful as Hyderabad blues, they were eye openers to all of us that a great director is present amongst us.
This movie combines the sentiments reflected in BLACK and LAGAAN, but then again, the theme is different from those movies. So a comparison may not be quit e fair.
One might dare to say this is different from Lagaan where in the end, Amir Khan holds our breaths with the heave for a six at the end, carrying all of us to the edges of our seats. If you expected such heroics, you will indeed be disappointed.
Overall one can say that this is a great movie and one that brings tears out of us, also presenting a strong message of FAITH and determination. Great movie, great cast and hats off once again to Nagesh Kukunoor! Get your money's worth, folks