Director: Boban Samuel
Cast: Jayasurya, Aparna Gopinath, Lal, Lalu Alex, Lena
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Remember the time when you ordered that burger but fumbled in the theatre’s darkness only to spill the sauce onto the shirt? Have you wondered then about how hard life would be for those who were permanently in the dark?
Director Boban Samuel tackles the dilemmas faced by such a bunch of adults who yearn for the pleasurable activities of life, especially one that everyone enjoys doing and watching, the gentleman’s game.
Leading the pack is a young gentleman called Aaron, played by Jayasurya with control and care, with every step and every twitch, not to overdo his act. The build-up is very convincing, Lena efficiently playing the overindulgent and well meaning mom but as the tale unfolds it sort of drags and comes unstuck at places.
The underplaying of emotions in the face of tragedy – an accident costing the budding cricketer his eyesight and subsequent setbacks when the adult Jayasurya tries his hand at blind cricket – is in sync with the philosophy that what the disabled need is empathy not sympathy.
If new-gen is an attempt to be different from the trodden path, then this belongs to that category, in theme even if not so much in treatment. Cricket seems to be the flavour of Mollywood these days and true to his character, Jayasurya accepts this totally de-glam role and plays it well but the script sort of flounders often before picking up steam again.
Couldn’t the director have shown at least one pulse-pounding match in the entire film? No sooner than the team assembles for a coaching camp in Bangalore under the guidance of Lal, the villain enters the scene and the team is forced to be disbanded. But a sports movie without a match?
Inexplicable is the only word that can be used to explain the not-so-happy journey. Aparna Gopinath plays the friendly female lead even though not exactly Jayasurya’s lady love. Most films revolve around romance and masala but this one doesn’t and therefore the director’s challenge of making a success of it is even greater.
If you remember your Chak De or the Rocky series, the denouement is usually what defines the movie, when the underdog triumphs over the favourite, thanks to the indomitable will. Here, it is more of an anti-climax when the villain undergoes some sort of mental transformation, allowing the team to embark on their journey to what seems to be a world cup.
