Sep 07, 2014 04:10 PM
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India has produced many legends in the field of sports. But barring the ones in cricket and few others in other games, we hardly can recall prominent names who have made a mark. Mary Kom is one such personality who became a known name for most Indians only after her victory in the 2012 London Olympics. Her story is extraordinary, her struggle is unparalleled. In short, she deserves a biopic that would make her story known to people all around the world. Debutant director Omung Kumar takes up the challenge and comes up with a fairly nice tribute to the boxing champion. Sadly, it could have been the film of the year but few factors doesn’t allow that to happen.
The story of the movie: Mangte Chungne Zang(Priyanka Chopra) is based in Manipur and is interested in boxing. Her father(Robin Das) however is averse to his daughter’s hot temper and obsession for boxing. Unknown to him, Mangte starts learning boxing under Coach Singh(Sunil Thapa) who rechristens her as Mary Kom. She even falls for Onler(Darshan Kumar). Although she is a pro at boxing, she has lot of hurdles in her way. She is from a country where her home state Manipur is not considered a part of India. She is from a country where women boxing is unheard of. Her father strongly disapproves of her boxing and Coach Singh disapproves of her desire to get settled and start a family. How Mary bravely faces these odds and manages to become world champion not once or twice but as many as 5 times is what the film is all about.
Mary Kom has quite an unexpected and thrilling beginning which makes a big impact. The scenes where Mary becomes a pro from just an amateur fighter is impressive and also the scene where she goes to fight with Lalboi. Nothing is extraordinary but still it’s engaging and makes for a great watch. The second half is much more interesting and also novel as Mary attempts to return to boxing after her pregnancy. The struggles that Mary faces at this point is something not shown ever in any film and hence Mary Kom scores big time here. The climax is nail-biting and gives a great culmination to the film.
Sadly, the film is devoid of glitches. Mary Kom is just 124 minutes long and has a crisp narrative. But few sequences are too quick to register an impact. This is especially in the scene where Mary Kom gets bald. Also, her rise in the boxing world seems too quick and one wishes that slightly more time was devoted in this regard. Mary Kom is more of an emotional drama but the boxing scenes lack the punch and seem predictable. It is only in the end when things turn unpredictable inside the boxing ring for the viewers. Secondly, the film is more of a fictionalized account and no complaints there. But the conflict added towards the climax(when Onler calls Mary in China) raises lot of questions, though it adds to the tension in the finale for sure. And thirdly and most importantly, there is too much of blatant and in-your-face advertisement of products that becomes laughable after a point. It’s fine to do it in a Krrish 3 but Mary Kom is an inspirational and no-nonsense flick. Hence, it’s not done when Iodex, Tata Salt, Intex mobile, Polycrol antacid, Havmore ice-creams, Sugar Free etc are unnecessarily promoted.
However, there would no grouses when it comes to performances. Priyanka Chopra is extraordinary. She isn’t merely playing Mary Kom; she has lived the part and it shows. Her physical transformation for the role is extraordinary. But even in the confrontational and emotional scenes, she gets the nuances totally correct. Definitely, here’s one of the finest performances of recent times!
Darshan Kumar gives a very sincere and effective performance and it would be nice to see him in more films. Sunil Thapa is flawless as the adamant boxing coach. Robin Das gives a fine performance. Shakti Singh(Federation official Sharma) looks every inch the corrupt and hard-nosed babu and does a great job. Rajni Basumatary(Mary’s mother), Binud Kumbang(Lalboi) and all others too deliver nice performances.
Songs are well-placed and don’t hinder the narrative. Ziddi Dil and Salaam India are easily the best songs of the film. Rohit Kulkarni’s background score is damn effective. Same goes for Parvez Sheikh’s action and Rob Miller’s boxing choreography. Keiko Nakahara’s cinematography is brilliant. Vanita Omung Kumar’s production design leaves a mark, especially in the opening scenes depicting Mary’s house and the surroundings. Rajesh G Pandey and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s editing is too fast-paced. Saiwyn Quadras’ story is interesting, though fictional. Screenplay could have been better. Omung Kumar takes up a challenging subject for his debut directorial venture. He falters but overall, he does a fairly nice job. Few scenes stand out for sure and I hope his next film is much better as he definitely has the qualities to make it big!
Some of the best scenes:
The opening scene
The songs Ziddi Dil and Salaam India
Mary fights Lalboi
Mary and Onler on the bike
Mary gives an interview
Mary gets back to boxing post pregnancy
Mary waits for hours outside Sharma’s office
Mary confronts Sharma in China
Mary offered hawaldar’s job
The climax
On the whole, Mary Kom is worth watching for its performances, especially by Priyanka Chopra, who delivers one of the finest performances in recent times, and for its message that if your dil is ziddi enough, any battle can be successfully fought. Sadly, it could have been the movie of the year but that doesn’t quite happen as it’s too quick, few boxing matches seem predictable and most importantly, the blatant advertising of Tata Salt, Iodex etc takes away the seriousness and charm from some of the scenes. Yet, a one-time watch for sure!
