'Ghoomer' movie review: One tip, one hand!

Film GhoomerUA Sports dramaDir R BalkiCAST Saiyami Kher Abhishek Bachchan Shabana AzmiRating 35Herersquos the thing I appreciate about movies where the unanticipated turning point in a characterrsquos life takes place so casually you donrsquot see it coming It goes with my nontheory about life itself Which is simply that life is so random we shouldnrsquot ever be taking theories on it seriouslyConsider that pivotal scene in October 2018 for instance where the lead character randomly slips off the ledge of a terrace and that altogether changes the course of her life and Shoojit Sircarrsquos beautiful filmLikewise the protagonist in Ghoomerrsquos got the whole world and cricketbat in her hand Until she randomly sticks the latter out of a moving car for a quick secmdashsomething parents have always warned kids against Thatrsquos it Shersquoll never be the same again Starting with loss of limb therefore loss of the sport she loves and lives forSaiyami Kher Mirzya Choked plays this cricketer primed to play professionally for India Shersquos a worldclass batter set to circumvent the usual selection process ie a stint in domestic cricketFilm archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur himself the nephew of cricket administrator Raj Singh Dungarpur plays Saiyamirsquos father in the film Angad Bedi again son of arguably the worldrsquos best leftarm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi plays Saiyamirsquos boyfriend This is just two reasons to state the filmmakers even if itrsquos through access to secondhand knowledge certainly know their cricketAnd they pull off a plot that in fact is inconceivable as per middayrsquos inhouse cricket expert Clayton Murzello That is a girl with one hand the other nonexistent aspiring for a spot in the national team Obviously then you canrsquot batSo thatrsquos a full handicap for a team of 11 for one The filmmakers summarily cite BS Chandrashekhar as an examplemdashwho by the way held the dubious record for scoring fewer runs than wickets taken in Test cricket plus 23 ducksThey kept Chandrashekhar in the team for his bowling alone didnrsquot they They did Also there is mention of Tiger Pataudi who captained India with one eye didnrsquot he Not the same thingThat said the other characters seem to swallow the filmrsquos incredulous proposition with hardly a pinch of salt This is the only drawback in the picture in that regard As for the audience analysing a leap of faith too much only disfigures the beauty of fiction which is like Godmdashyou either believe or you donrsquotIn this case you do Ghoomer is a film on cricket that as a national religion Irsquom agnostic towards Given the storyrsquos got a further spin to it only makes it more interesting hencemdashover the usual superpredictable sports biopics especially with ladies in the lead that wersquove suffered lately the likes of Shabaash Mithu 2022 on Mithali Raj Saina 2021 on Saina Nehwal to quickly trash a coupleOn the face of it Ghoomer is also a dark tragedy isnrsquot it And this is where you gotta thank the writerdirector R Balkirsquos trademarked lightness of touch in dealing with a subject so grim with soft advertisingphotography and a peculiarly gallows humour he thrives on Paa Shamitabhmdashto sail you through scenes songs even making jokes on disabilities or suicide along the waySo yoursquore in it not for virtuesignallingsympathy alone Yoursquore inherently enjoying a film Which isnrsquot to suggest the timetested tropes of sports moviesmdashalways about supreme sacrifice before eventual success of the underdogmdashdonrsquot exist Theyrsquore inevitableinescapable Mercifully wersquore spared the shot of the protagonist training on tyres since Rocky 1976Still there are enough boxes ticked to a point that certain stretched portions before the finale third act or even the climax feel like deliberate deacutejagrave vu Chuck Chak De India 2007 for a momentmdashthis is also a Balki movie which has its own checklistTo start with Amitabh Bachchan in some form onoff the screen Bachchan makes it to the commentary box in a cameo as himself In a way that Bachchan had a popculture reference as himself in a movie Badla where he was already playing a role His son Abhishek Bachchan here is the male leadThe part that Big B wouldrsquove played straight off the bat in Ghoomer is of the crabby old haggard alcoholic ex failed Test cricketer who takes it upon himself to coach the female protagonist to a glory he couldnrsquot once achieveThatrsquos Abhishek in the filmmdashconvincingly channelling his inner Bachchan if you may Also the actor in the current phase of his career with A for a middle name expanding his repertoire with roles that couldnrsquot be more unlike the last Dasvi Bob Biswas The Big BullItrsquos the pitchperfect Saiyami however in the middle on the creasemdashin a part that couldnrsquot literally be any more physically challenging if yoursquoll ignore the pun I donrsquot know her athletic antecedents Her cricket must match the bestmdasheven if her bowling will cleverly baffle like Kachrarsquos from Lagaan 2001What else do I love about sports movies Ironically lifersquos lessons in them They work if absorbed as entertainment My favourite here As with batting there is partnership in bowling too ldquoKabhi kabhi wicket jo girta hai woh pichhle over ke dhakke ki wajah se girta hai Sometimes a wicket falls because of a push from a previous bowlerrsquos overrdquoThe reverse I suspect is true for movies in theatres Sometimes people go to watch a film because of the one before thatrsquos already lured them in As we speak therersquos postpandemic cheer at the cinemas lsquoBarbenheimerrsquo lsquoRockyRanirsquo lsquoOh My Gadarrsquohellip Wishing this well tooYUCK WHATEVER GOOD SUPER AWESOME

'Ghoomer' movie review: One tip, one hand!

Film: Ghoomer
U/A: Sports drama
Dir: R Balki
CAST: Saiyami Kher, Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi
Rating: 3/5

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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / 'Ghoomer' movie review: One tip, one hand!

'Ghoomer' movie review: One tip, one hand!

Film: Ghoomer U/A: Sports dramaDir: R Balki CAST: Saiyami Kher, Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana AzmiRating: 3/5

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Film: Ghoomer
U/A: Sports drama
Dir: R Balki
CAST: Saiyami Kher, Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi
Rating: 3/5