Ghoomer Review {2.5/5} & Review Rating
GHOOMER is the story of a physically challenged cricket player. Anina (Saiyami Kher) has always been interested in cricket since she was a child. She resides with her father (Shivendra Singh Dungarpur), grandmother (Shabana Azmi) and brothers Anuj (Piyush Raina) and Tishu (Akshay Joshi). She pursues the sport even while studying and gets shortlisted for the selection process for the Indian cricket team. While she’s on the crease, the session is interrupted by a drunken Padam Singh Sodhi aka Paddy (Abhishek Bachchan), a failed player. In a drunken state, he bowls to Anina and gets her out. He publicly concludes that she’s unfit to be selected. Anina, however, gets selected. At a celebratory dinner, Paddy lands up to get his share of alcohol. When he sees that Anina is one of the selected players, he insults her and the management that selected her. Anina bursts out crying and leaves. While returning home in her boyfriend Jeet’s (Angad Bedi) car, she meets with an accident. The doctors try their best but are not able to save her right arm. Anina, obviously, is shattered. The selection team looks for her replacement. Anina feels like a burden as she struggles to do normal chores after the amputation. On her birthday, Paddy meets her. He’s the only one who doesn’t take pity on her and advises her to become an expert bowler with her left hand. Anina rejects his proposal and blames him for her situation. Slowly, she warms up to this idea and begins her training under Paddy. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
R Balki's story (co-written by Rahul Sengupta and Rishi Virmani) is intriguing. It is inspired by Karoly Takacs, a Hungarian right-hand shooter, who won two Olympic Gold medals with his left hand after his right hand was seriously injured. R Balki's screenplay is different from the other sports films and peppered with very entertaining and dramatic scenes. However, a few developments are very quick and unconvincing. R Balki's dialogues are witty and sharp and are sure to raise laughs.
R Balki's direction is quite nice. While the first half is around 50 minutes long, the second half’s runtime is nearly 80 minutes. Yet, one doesn’t mind as a lot is happening in the film. The way he depicts Anina’s hardships after she goes through the amputation is moving. Her training scenes are gripping and very convincing. But what works very well are the scenes between Anina and Paddy. Some of the memorable scenes here are Anina and Paddy’s first meeting, Paddy humiliating Anina at the dinner, Paddy asking Anina to clear the bushes in his backyard and even cook food and Anina’s meeting with Paddy on Diwali.
On the flipside, the film is too quick at times. A few developments are convenient, especially in the cricket match in the climax. Paddy makes a shocking revelation to Anina but nothing much happens about it after this dramatic sequence. And the major problem with the film is that the trailer ended up showing too much of the story. An important plot point is also depicted in the promo. A lot of buildup happens in the film with regard to this development in the film. However, when it unveils on screen, it won’t surprise the audience as they have already seen it in the trailer.
Ghoomer | Official Trailer | Abhishek Bachchan, Saiyami, Shabana Azmi, Angad Bedi | R Balki
Speaking of performances, Abhishek Bachchan shines. He’s totally into his character and rocks the show. It won’t be wrong to say that this is one of his most accomplished performances. Saiyami Kher, too, gives her best. This is not an easy role at all and it’s evident that she’s given her blood and sweat in convincingly playing a cricketer. Shabana Azmi is adorable. Angad Bedi is decent as a supportive boyfriend. Piyush Raina and Akshay Joshi are wasted. Shivendra Singh Dungarpur is decent. Ivanka Das (Rasika) leaves a mark. Amitabh Bachchan adds to the starry presence. His character is cute; however, some of his dialogues are not audible. Others are good.
Amit Trivedi's music is well woven into the narrative but is not of chartbuster variety. The title song is the most memorable track of the lot. 'Dil Dum Chahalla', 'Taqdeer Se Taqraa' and 'Purnaviram' are soulful but don't get registered properly. Amit Trivedi's background score is much better.
Vishal Sinha's cinematography is weak in the car scene but overall, it’s appropriate. Sandeep Sharad Ravade's production design is memorable, especially Paddy’s house. Aesha Merchant's costumes are stylish yet realistic. Double Barrel Communications & VC Studiioz' VFX is great. The amputation looks quite real. Special mention should also go to Dhruv P Panjuani's sports direction. Nipun Ashok Gupta's editing is too quick in some scenes.
On the whole, GHOOMER rests on Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher’s performances and some well-executed scenes. But the narrative is too quick and the trailer ended up showing nearly the whole story. Moreover, at the box office, it will face a tough time since last week’s releases, GADAR 2 and OMG 2, continue to remain super-strong.
