‘Panga’ Movie Review: Kangana Ranaut is fab, but child artiste Yagya Bhasin and Jassie Gill steal the limelight

Directed By
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Produced By
Fox Star Studios

Cast
Kangana Ranaut, Jassie Gill, Richa Chadha, Neena Gupta, Yagya Bhasin

Bollywood Bubble Rating

What’s It About
‘Panga’ is all about a mother’s struggles to make a comeback into sports thereby get a second chance in life to fulfil her personal dreams and aspirations. Will she be able to succeed in her pursuit? Or will she fall flat and get a stark reality check? Well, for that you will have to watch the film.

What’s Hot
Yagya Bhasin. Don’t know who he is? Well, he is the child artiste who plays the character of Aditya Nigam aka Aadi in the movie. Not only does he play the character of Kangana Ranaut’s son with an overdose of cuteness, he even manages to mouth the choicest and wittiest dialogues throughout the movie. If you remember Darsheel Zafary from ‘Taare Zameen Par’, you are bound to remember this little one for your life. His performance is impeccable.

Whatever quirks she may have, whatever her political allegiance be, whatever controversies she may be embroiled in, you can never deny the fact that Kangana Ranaut creates magic when she is in front of the camera. She is back to playing relatable and life-like characters. Her performance is indeed applause-worthy. As the mother and as the sportsperson.

Then there is Jassie Gill. Man, you need to take a bow. Your character is something that every Indian wife wants to have in her ideal husband. The performance is laden with comic punches and the relationship exuded between a father-son and a husband-wife was totally relatable, believable and ‘human’. You need to do more films in Bollywood brother and prove to the world that you’re not just another Diljit Dosanjh.

Richa Chadha may have had an extended cameo in the film, but the lady managed to make the most of it. She had some of the best punches in comedy, and it’s her character that keeps you smiling throughout yet giving out the tough messages from time to time.

Moving on from acting, there is no doubt that Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is a stellar storyteller. She has always managed to wound a beautiful story, which not only leaves an impact on your minds as a viewer but also makes you want to watch it over and over again. She does the same with ‘Panga’. Her direction is top-notch.

Not only that, her writing of the story along with Nikhil Mehrotra is a story which everyone os us has seen or heard in our day-to-day life, but never acknowledged it as much as it should have been. To add to this, the screenplay by master filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari is also something to stand up and clap for. Hadn’t it been for the way the beautiful story was presented onscreen, the film’s whole essence would have been killed. Thank you Ashwiny, Nikhil and Nitesh for this beautifully told story.

What’s Not
Well, to begin with, Neena Gupta has been let go off with a really small character. Considering her immense talent, I would have wanted to see more of her on-screen. Rather, it would have been a pleasure to see more of her character onscreen.

The beginning of the second half was slightly drab, as the film takes a mighty long time to get to the main point. Thereby, I would like to point out that the editing by Ballu Saluja could have been a bit crisper.

Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music usually is top-notch, but in ‘Panga’ it wasn’t something that stood out. The songs were beautifully woven into the storyline of the movie, yet there will be hardly any song will you will keep humming while walking out of the screens.

Lastly, about the screenplay, I wish the practice sessions of Kangana Ranaut would have been shown a bit more. It seemed as if things were happening to her quite so very easily. The struggle behind making a comeback into the Indian National Team happened much easily to Kangana’s character. I feel that should have been shown more.

Also, as has been usual in all sports films, there is a villain that’s always there in the team, who is against the main protagonist. Even in this film, there is one such character. I won’t spoil the fun by revealing who that is, but I kind of find that irritating when someone who’s at such a respected position of being a part of the Indian National team is shown to stoop down to petty levels just for some mileage in his/her own career. Could have been done away with.

Lastly, the biggest flaw is the predictability of the second half. Like in Nitesh Tiwari’s last film, ‘Chhichhore’, the ending wasn’t something that you could predict, and that’s what made the story stand out from other sports films. Sadly, ‘Panga’ isn’t that. You will get exactly what you will predict!

Verdict
When you make a room full of movie critics clap for almost 2 minutes after the end titles start rolling in, you know you have connected with the audience. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s presentation is a sweet and memorable tale which should be watched over and over by the people of our Indian patriarchal society. Despite the flaws, the film manages to entertain and keep you hooked till the end. Needless to say, it’s a MUST WATCH. I am going with three and a half stars for ‘Panga’.

Box-Office
‘Panga’ may have done lesser promotional activities than the other release of this week, ‘Street Dancer’, but this is the one which will be the lambi race ka ghoda. The film will grow on word-of-mouth, and considering the bad reviews ‘Street Dancer’ is getting, ‘Panga’ will benefit from that as well. To add to it, Kangana Ranaut is a huge star and can carry a film totally on her shoulders. With all that said, the fate of the film at the ticket windows looks bright, however, it might start showing up from the 2nd day onwards.

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Also Read: ‘Street Dancer 3D’ Movie Review: Varun Dhawan-Shraddha Kapoor starrer lacks the X-factor

Prateek Sur

Born a Movie Buff, working as a Film Critique and enjoying life as a Bollywood Reporter.

Email: editor@bollywoodbubble.com Phone: +91 8355910465