First thing first! There was no way I would have skipped a write-up on this saga. Straight from the boxer’s ring, this one punches all the right knocks.
Mary Kom is the biopic of Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom also known as MC Mark Kom or Magnificent Mary. Born to a rice farmer in a small village of Manipur, her real life journey to become five time world boxing champion is what heroic folklores are made of; something that I read comic books on, in my childhood.
“Against all odds” gets an altogether different meaning when we realize the hardship that Mary Kom went through. Being sportsperson is a highly neglected profession in India and if that happens to be a women boxer, you can imagine all sorts of obstacles on your way. From choosing between her father & boxing, dealing with governmental bureaucracy, love versus carrier, Mary Kom overcomes all the hurdles one after the other. It is impossible for us to imagine the gruesome humiliations that life can impose on us, Mary Kom has been through those. The most impactful scene of the movie is the bus journey where a fellow passenger fails to recognize the great boxer sitting right in front of him as Mary Kom left boxing few years ago & thence lost her recognition & identity. Mary’s reaction in the scene has been captured astutely well by the scriptwriter & it serves as a reminder to all citizens of India that how easily we neglect our sports personalities when they fade away from their glory. Unfortunately, we meted a similar fate to Dhyan Chand. While it’s a norm to salute the rising sun, we must not forget that the sun, that set last evening, shone for the whole day, brightened our lives & deserves equal accolades. I have no doubt that boxing would get some fan following in 2016 Rio Olympics when Mary Kom appears again in the 20x20 square ring to bring India that Gold Medal as her Coach rightly says that he does not like Silver & so do the 1.3 billion fans of the legendary boxer.
Priyanka does full justice to the character. While I write this review, I realize that it’s Mary Kom that is in my mind when I think back of movie scenes, nowhere did I notice Priyanka Chopra, the glam icon that we know, in the movie. Priyanka has reached a stage where roles are being written for her & she seems to be the picking just the right ones. Awards & rewards would follow for sure, but the satisfaction that you get from one such role is far better than a 100 crore crappy hit.
Sports films are rare in Bollywood. There are only 3 that run through my mine now; Jo Jeeta Vohi Sikandar, Chak De, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Mary Kom certainly belongs to the league. We need a lot of sports personalities like Mary Kom & lots of movies like Mary Kom. Go watch as movies like this deserve our patronage. It brings a fantastic realization that there are sports in India other than Cricket and yes, Manipur in very much in India!
Thanks
Hariom Pandey
