Guts and Glory. Review on Mary Kom

May Kom does India proud! Well that is the message that the papers have been saying lately ever since the golden lady got us our first women women’s gold in the Asiad 2014.

Mary Kom the movie attempts to tell her story. And what a story. Of grit and determination. But if that were all there was to it, it would be a boring documentary. Enter Priyanka Chopra and her co-actors, under the stewardship of Sanjay Leela Bhansali to tell us a fine tale that must be told and re-told to every man woman and child in this country. Because it is told with the requisite passion and emotion. Critics have panned the emotion in the telling but to me it is essential to bring the character to real life that you and I can relate to.

On the histrionics front, PC plays her part well, as expected. In every movie there is a special PC moment, a treat she gives to her discerning fans. In this movie she has them too, especially the one scene where a child and her father  unknown that Mary Kom( after her first childbirth has retired from boxing) is sitting right in front of them are speaking about her and she takes the child’s notebook and gives her an autograph. Not much is said, but the expressions are good. So also the scene where she is made to wait outside the sports federation official’s office for the whole day and then humiliated as she goes to tender her apology. Its not PC you see there, its Mary Kom. And you feel for Mary Kom.

I sure like the way this story delivers its punches in terms of showing the boxing federation officialdom for what it is. Sadly they did nothing at the recent Asiad to counter that image and have only strengthened it.

The movie goes from fight to fight, tracing the character of a very angry young woman who has been wronged a lot of times in her life

The cinematography is good and the outdoor training scenes are too good

The cripting is simple and has tried hard to incorporate the local ethos well. Like in the  scene with Mary and her father in the field or the interview.

Mary Kom the movie, tries to live up to the living legend and pulls no punches in the telling of the tale

Go watch!