Ghoomer Review: Abhishek-Saiyami’s film has right intentions but lacks finesse
'Ghoomer' starring Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher is now in theatres. Directed by R Balki, the film is about perseverance and hard work. Read our review.
In Short
- Ghoomer is a film directed by R Balki, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher.
- The film aims to tell a story of strength and perseverance, but struggles to delve deeper into the emotions and teamwork aspect of the plot.
- While Saiyami Kher is praised for her technicality and physicality in her role, the screenplay and writing of the film fall short in holding the audience's attention.
‘Ghoomer’ is director R Balki’s ‘Mission Saiyami Kher’. What happens when life throws lemons at you? Well, you make lemonade. But, in all jest and humour, Balki attempts to tell an empathetic tale of endurance, perseverance and determination in ‘Ghoomer,’ starring Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher. Two individuals, one mentor and another student, find each other as crutches to stand back on their own feet.
Anina (Saiyami) is a talented cricketer who suffers because of her right-hand amputation days before she was to play her first match for India against England. Paddy aka Padam Singh Sodhi (Abhishek) is a retired test cricketer who never got his due after suffering a rib fracture during a match in 1995. Together, they come to set new benchmarks. Is it enough to keep the audiences invested? Let's find out!
‘Ghoomer’ has all the right intentions. It is not a story of sympathy but empathy. It isn’t trying to be a sob fest about a woman losing her right arm, but a tale of revering strength to fight back. But, despite all its intentions, it can hardly scratch beyond the surface.
The writing depends a lot on suspension of disbelief, especially in the climax sequences. To focus entirely on Anina’s skills as a bowler, negating the strength of the teamwork in the final sequences doesn’t evoke the emotions it intends to. It tries to create a moment like ‘Chak De’ but the SRK-starrer never alienated the teamwork.
The screenplay doesn’t move you either. The movie starts with the stadium echoing with the thunderous chant of ‘Ghoomer’ and even before the audience could warm up to the sound, the feeling, we are teleported back to her backstory abruptly. The first 45 minutes are spent on establishing the plot of Anina. The only problem with that is the movie heavily rides on Saiyami to carry forward the first 45 mins and Kher, despite her efforts, fails to hold attention for long. Her limitations as an actor can not be ignored in scenes showing vulnerabilities.
However, kudos to Saiyami for getting the technicality of her character right. Her basic knowledge of the sport helped her get the nuances of the sport right, and her hard work to get the physicality of a person dealing with amputation was bang on as well.
On the other hand, Abhishek Bachchan is terrific as Paddy. His comic timing, body language, his dialogue delivery do full justice to a man who wants to prove something. AB Junior puts in all he has in the movie with a glorious Shabana Azmi playing Anina’s grandmother. Azmi has a strong screen presence. Her character starts as a grandmother who is well-informed and learned. However, in the second half, you don’t see much happening around her.
Meanwhile, it was lovely to have Amitabh Bachchan in a cameo in the movie. The music justifies the emotions well. The movie is peppered with various tropes used in Balki’s direction, be it humour or emotional arcs. But despite a stellar battling lineup, if the top order fails (in this case the writing, the screenplay, and the actors), there is only so much the middle-order can do!
2.5 out of 5 stars for ‘Ghoomer'.
