I somehow felt that they forgot to get an editor or if they had one, he/she forgot their scissors at home
Cast: Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, Ritwik Sahore, Paresh Rawal, Satyadeep Mishra,
Director: Rajesh Mapuskar
STORY: Rustam (Sharman Joshi) is a head clerk at the RTO office and absolutely straightforward. While his father Debo (Boman Irani) is a couch potato. Rustam’s son is 12-year-old Kayo (Ritvik Sahore) who plays terrific cricket for such a tender age. Only the three men are part of the household where Kayo’s mother has passed on. Rustam is very particular about the values he teaches his son – he not only preaches but lives ‘honesty’. The family runs on Rustam’s single income while he does the household chores too. He breaks the family piggy bank to gather funds to buy a new bat for Kayo. Under these circumstances, Kayo lands an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go for a cricket coaching workshop at Lord’s, London. While Kayo’s cricket coach (Satyadeep Mishra) is doing his best to keep Kayo away from the scene – he is fully aware of their financial circumstances – the child does get selected. It’s Rustam who is keener that his son goes to the workshop, more than Kayo. Will he be able to get the funds together? Watch the hilarity and pathos weaving together as Rustam does the best by his son. Will Kayo go to Lord’s?
MY PERCEPTION: As I saw in a number of reviews, it’s true that the middle-class will be able to relate to the struggles faced by Rustam and Kayo. Most of the children who have dreams of becoming something must be undergoing this kind of an experience in a country like India. This is the film’s USP.
Boman Irani is a veteran and he has performed very well. Ritvik Sahore was excellent as Sharman Joshi’s son and Boman’s grandson. The values that the film brings to the fore – most of which is missing in kids nowadays – is nothing short of excellent.
Ritvik Sahore is neat and plays a great role. The way he is first angry with his grandfather and later gets close – all thanks to Rustam’s way of handling situations – were portrayed perfectly. More than all this, there is this dialogue that he speaks to his father about becoming a great cricketer while practising from home. While the words must have been written by a scriptwriter, the child says them in the correct fashion without sounding like an adult. That is some feat, I realise. I salute Ritvik on this score.
Sharman Joshi is an excellent actor and has given an excellent performance of a Bawa male who lives with his father and son and runs the house singlehandedly. His expressions were perfect for the role he plays. What I did not like is when he sheds so many tears. True, there were a number of emotional sequences, but there is something known as overdoing – well, that has what has happened in this film.
Satyadeep Mishra as Kayo’s coach is worth a mention. He has done a neat job of his role.
One thing I have to mention about the cinematography. The angles of Mumbai that have been portrayed in the film are nothing short of amazing. All the areas shown, especially from above, are simply gorgeous. Kudos!
The sequence with the wedding ceremony conducted by the Koli corporator was well made.
But, and there is a huge BUT here…
The film does not deserve screen space for more than an hour and a half while it drags on for 2 hrs. 20 minutes. That’s 50 minutes too long. The story has only so much to say. You can’t keep dragging and hammering the same situation again and again. The audience will tend to get bored.
I somehow felt that they forgot to get an editor or if they had one, he/she forgot their scissors at home. Problem after problem after problem being dragged out slowly can be quite torturous. This is a fast moving world and we want to get things going at that pace.
The script could have been way shorter. While the humour with Sachin Tendulkar’s servant and security guard was good, it could have been made tight. The actors themselves have performed well.
The film is probably doing fantastically well more because people – like me and my family – are under the impression that it has been directed by Rajkumar Hirani. That is not so. The director is Rajesh Mapuskar.
I have to mention here that Vidya Balan’s item number was excellent despite her growing bulk. Good one, Vidya!
Why haven’t I mentioned Paresh Rawal? Because there is nothing worth mentioning.
VERDICT: It is definitely worth a watch for the values that brings to you and for Ritvik Sahore.
RATING: **1/2 (as it is not Smart enough)
*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super
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