Sports movies by their very nature tend to be predictable, formulaic affairs. They seldom deviate from traditional narratives such as the rise of an underdog, the comeback of a temporary waylaid, the transformation of a rebel star into a team player, and the redemption of a tireless, committed coach who wants to give their life another chance through someone else.
R Balki’s Ghoomer uses cricket as a metaphor to tell the story of a woman cricketer who rises against all odds, but in the process of telling this story, the director fails to rise above the clichés of the genre. Nevertheless, he does succeed in creating a credible world and, thanks to affecting performances from its principal players, gives us characters that we can care about.
Inspired by the story of Károly Takács, the late Hungarian right-hand shooter who won two Olympic gold medals with his left hand after his other hand was seriously injured, Balki gives you a poignant and powerful tale of human resilience through cricket.
Anina (Saiyami Kher) is on her path to becoming a famous woman cricket player (by representing India); her abilities are aided by being a good batswoman and her family including her grandma (Shabana Azmi), father (Shivendra Singh Dungarpur) and boyfriend (Angad Bedi). On a few occasions, an inebriated former bowler named Padam Singh Sodhi aka Paddy (Abhishek Bachchan) violently bursts her ideal bubble. Soon after, Anina has a freak accident that causes her to lose her right arm, further entwining her life with Sodhi’s.
Although the idea is lovely, the narrative comes across as convenient and occasionally even confusing because certain emotions are overrepresented especially in the first half. The emotional stakes appear flimsy. Like, the final match that they play in the film is shown to make Anina look like the hero. To highlight Anina’s abilities despite her limitations, the final match’s handy narrative downplays the strengths of her other teammates. Despite a promising beginning, the game turns out to be pretty gimmicky.
The second half significantly improves the screenplay and an emotional commitment to the characters’ journey. Once the film enters the sports montage and underdog journey territory, it’s on surer footing. The director takes care of the technicalities of cricket without delving into them too much. And the sprinkles of humour throughout the film help ease the intensity.
The story does not have any twists and turns and runs on predictability. It is to Balki’s credit that he still holds the audience’s interest right down to the last ball and a lot of credit goes to the actors who bring the story to life with zealous honesty.
It helps that Kher has excellent form as a batsman since we can sense Anina’s unwavering devotion to the game. She is convincing because of her love for the game off the camera also. Kher’s performance is endearing even outside of the pitch, and her connection with Azmi gives the movie a deeper perpective. Anina is devastated and angry after experiencing a great loss and learning that she might never be able to play cricket again; an expressive Kher effectively conveys both sides of her anguish.
Bachchan looks every bit the disgruntled coach and takes the cake when it comes to being grumpy all the time. He is an ideal example of the archetypal mentor figure since he has turned into a brazen recluse as a result of getting the raw deal in life. He speaks quickly to everyone; he encounters and drowns all his sorrows in a bottle of whiskey every night. He shares a home with his rakhi sister Rasika (Ivanka Das), as both of them share a love-hate relationship. His depiction of a damaged alcoholic, a fatally flawed and wounded soul, fighting his inner demons, is captivating especially the monologue sequence where he agrees to be a loser all his life and wants to taste victory just once.
Azmi, as usual, is first rate and even she has her moments in the film. Bedi and Dungarpur lend good support to the film. Amitabh Bahchan’s cameo will leave a smile on your face.
Ghoomer sticks to familiar ground as far as a sports film goes, Amidst all the faux sentimentality, we still get a protagonist that we can’t help rooting for. That is the film’s real success.
