Cast – Aamir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Zaira Wasim, Sanya Malhotra, Suhani Bhatnagar, Aparshakti Khurana, Girish Kulkarni
Director – Nitesh Tiwari
Writer – Nitesh Tiwari, Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain, Nikhil Meharotra
The film makes the year end on a great note.
It’s clearly one of the best movies of this year that marks a fine balance between entertainment and meaningful cinema.
This inspiring story gives a message effortlessly while keeping us engaged.
I’m so glad that this film will finally get the cash registers ringing for the parched cinemas.
There is a huge team to share the credits for this marvellous film (it’s going to be my longest ever review)
Their casting director to begin with. Mukesh Chhabra does an excellent job of selecting the best possible cast for each role.
The performances are so worth appreciating and I’m not talking just about Amir Khan here. He’s someone who’s already defined what perfection is when it comes to owning the character. It’s also not just about his much hyped physical attributes. It’s the realism that he brings to every damn emotion and expression so much so that you hardly see the star in him,it’s just the character through and through.
The four girls who play Geeta Babita,namely Fatima, Sanya, Zaira, Suhani play it excellent. They enliven the innocence and contempt of two young girls suddenly thrown in to the ambition of their father. Their eventual acceptance and then determination to win and their entire journey is portrayed so well by them.
Sakshi Tanwar ,the mom with very little dialogues who emotes well just with her eyes ;
Their adorable cousin played by Aparshakti Khurana and Ritwik Sahore ;
It’s all these actors who make it such a pleasure to watch. There are emotionally tugging moments and euphoric moments. For those who watch with heart on their sleeve will find themselves at times teary eyed and at times clapping with glee and also standing up for the anthem voluntarily even without the so called rule upon their mind.
Director Nitesh Tiwari has done hell of a job.
The screenplay and dialogues are excellent. The dry Haryanvi humour is just in the right proportion without being over the top.
The lyrics by Amit Bhattacharya are earthy using the colloquial language and woven seamlessly with the mood and flow. They are just beautiful.
The first half is all about their journey of hard work, sheer grit and determination in the face of so much resistance. You can’t help but be in awe of the man whose ambition just blew away the mindset of that khap ruled land. Imagine making your daughters wrestle it out with boys in a society where … well we all know how it is!!!
I held my breath in tension when she entered the arena for the first time surrounded by leering and condescending men around. Hats off to the real hero, the veteran Phogat.
The second half is all about the excellent wrestling matches, the training nuances and techniques. The matches that are shown in entirety are so well directed that they are capable of developing a genuine interest in this sport for those who knew nothing about it .
The detailing of training and techniques qualify it as a perfect sports movie.
Even though I was vaguely aware of the outcome, the matches were absolutely nail biting and edge of the seat.
The movie was a clear winner for portraying the journey of the winners, who fought not only the mindset of people but also the adversity and hardships that most sportsmen and their families have to go through.
Watch it for the endless list of reasons above.
Do we require a score?