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Subhash K. Jha speaks about Victory |
First things first, this isn't a film about cricket. Not entirely. It's also about life, dreams, ambitions, aspirations and nightmares and how the individual gets progressively sucked into self-seeking opportunism while chasing those elusive abusive dreams.
Victory takes a leaf out of all the inspirational tales on sports and sportspersons that you've seen or not seen, from Chariots Of Fire to Chak De India, and it turns the luminous leaf into a flourishing tree of thoughts ideas and visuals suggesting a deep link between hopes and compromises.
The rags-to-riches-to-shame-to-glory tale is nothing new. The redemptive narrative takes us into a territory that we have probably charted umpteen times. What sets debutant director Ajitpal Mangat's rugged but emotional film apart is the discernible love that it exudes for the sentiments of the masses.
This is the story of the middleclass for the middleclass told with a melodramatic flourish that tilts its cap to the greatest conventions of mainstream Hindi cinema.
While retaining a core of commercialism in creating Vijay Shekhawat's portrait of an ordinary man's extraordinary dream, Mangat manages to introduce a certain amount of finesse and polish to the product that makes this inspirational story a cut above the rut...
The cricket sequences which serve as signposts in the protagonist's plunge into the 'wicket' world of wondrous influences are the highlights of the film. Shot with self-assured panache in stadiums all across the world with internationally-known cricketers (a veritable game of who's who for the audience), the film's credibility level rises automatically when we see the expertise on the playing field.
No doubt the director loves the game. But he also loves movies about the games that life plays with people. Undoubtedly the director is a cricket fan. It shows in almost every shot that he so diligently shoots with cameras that don't prowl on the field. They search for the most special moments in that intimate relationship that forms on the field between the batsman and the bowler. When capturing cricket the narrative spins a nail biting montage of sporty suspense.
Cinematographer Vikas Shivraman is thoroughly clued into director Mangat's mindset both on and off the field. Together they create a world that captures the protagonist's inners cape without reducing the locations to incidental props.
For Hurman S Baweja this film is as redemptive and as glorious a comeback as it is for the character he plays. Batting sixes and zeroes on the field, or sharing moments in the 'grim' room with his screen dad (Anupam Kher, excellent in his allotted space) or the sweet tender supportive girlfriend (who else but Amrita Rao) Victory showcases Hurman's filmy skills without being reduced to a showcase for the leading man.
Indeed Victory is a far more accomplished film than it at first seems. It's easy to say we've seen all of this before. But the sweetest songs are always those that are sung to a familiar tune in exciting unpredictable voices.
Victory does just that. It works as a sports film. It works as film about the cascading dreams of a wannabe who should have learnt to run before deciding to fly. And it works as a vehicle to spotlight Hurman S Baweja's dexterity in front of the camera.
In brief, this one works.
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