One thing is for sure—R. Balki's latest flick, Ghoomer, is a highly impactful one. It is that food for thought which takes you along on a passionate journey of victory and loss and pulls at your heartstrings for long after the end credits begin to roll.
You might choose to love the film or hate it but it is quite difficult to ignore the grit and passion of a paraplegic cricketer and the unflinching determination of her coach who gives her wings to make history, in the face of despair and hopelessness.
The plot may seem formulaic and repetitive, but Balki, who's written the script, has given it a brilliant nuance which has elevated the film by several notches. That this is yet another inspirational sports drama is a given, but it is the parallel narrative built around tragedy, guilt, redemption and forgiveness that pushes the plot forward and makes Ghoomer so different and compelling. This is a moving sports drama; the kind we needed to see and the kind that keeps us gripped from the beginning to the end.
In the character of Anina Dixit, a young, tenacious cricketer who chases her dream in the face of despair, Sayami Kher is forceful and believable. There are no frills to her character, and she shines in the simplicity. Ghoomer revolves around Anina, a young batting prodigy, who loses her right hand in an accident.
This happens just a night before she is to make her debut in the Indian cricket team and leave for England. Distraught and devastated, she considers her career to be finished but just then enters the drunkard, foul-mouthed and frustrated ex-test cricketer-turned-coach, Paddy (Abhishek Bachchan) who makes it his mission to convince the girl that she can still play for the country; if not as a batsman, then as a left arm bowler.
The entire second half of the film is how he trains and polishes her and helps her achieve the unthinkable - a prodigious batsman turning into an equally enviable fast bowler/spinner, and that too, with just her left hand.
In one of his recent interviews with THE WEEK, Abhishek Bachchan said that he does not like any of his performances so far. He makes it a point to re-watch his past films but there has been none where he can say he's done a good job. Well, he might not say that after watching his powerful delivery (pun intended) in the role of a mad-cap coach who gives it his all to turn around the misfortune of a potential winner.
Shabana Azmi plays the role of a loving grandma who passionately follows cricket in a bid to help encourage and motivate her granddaughter to perform better. It is heartening to see her maintain a book of Dixit's hits and misses and make the budding cricketer, energising smoothies every morning.
Ghoomer is a motivational saga from the real-life story of the late Hungarian shooter Karoly Takacs, who won a gold medal in the rapid fire pistol event at the 1948 London Olympics with his left hand after his other hand was seriously injured. This, the film announces during the credit roll itself. A deftly made movie, Ghoomer is a treat to watch.
Movie: Ghoomer
Director: R. Balki
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Saiyami Kher, Angad Bedi and Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
Rating: 4 stars