Cast: Madhavan, Ritika Singh, Mumtaz Sorcar, Nasser, Radha Ravi
A boxing coach who has seen nothing but failure sees to that he fulfils his dreams through a talented girl, sounds familiar? Though the film bears resemblance to Chak De in the first few scenes, the director has done a brilliant job of steering it away in the scenes that follow. As you watch the movie, you realise that the movie is not about the sport; it is about two broken people and how they lean on each other to sail through their tough times.
Madhavan plays the role of a rough and tough boxing coach Prabhu who is languishing in a nightmare caused by his coach resulting in him losing to his opponent. This is not the Madhavan you are used to seeing – he is serious, cynical and someone who is bereft; talk about giving yourself one hundred percent to the script. He meets his protégé and vows to train her till she qualifies to become the ultimate boxer. Enter Ritika who sells fish in a hamlet in Chennai and doesn’t see herself as the boxer. But Prabhu convinces her and what follows is a clash of their wills. With him trying to achieve his drams through her and her trying to undermine herself, their performance shines through in every training scene.
It is evident why Maddy invested three years of his life in this movie. He looks talks and walks like the boxer he is supposed to be in the film. For all the disgrace he has been through, he justifies his rough and tough character and also the fact that he just wants to find and train new boxers. Ritika, on the other hand is a real life MMA fighter with no background in acting whatsoever. But when she is on screen, she is alive and is a breath of fresh air.
What works for this movie is the script. It has no drama and tells you the story like how it is in real life. It is meticulously planned, brilliantly executed and it will not be an exaggeration to call it an epic in its own right.
Verdict: A film that delivers on all standards, consistently.
Rating: ***
