‘Saala Khadoos’ Movie Review- Bollywood Bubble

Directed by: Sudha Kongara
Produced by: R Madhavan, Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: R Madhavan, Ritika Singh, Mumtaz Sorcar
Duration: 2 hours 20 minute
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 3/5

India has not had much great sports films. Shimit Amin’s ‘Chak De! India’ had brought some fresh air amidst the disappointment as well had set high goals for sports films that were yet to come. ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ was another intense success; though it was more than just a sports drama. Wondering whether ‘Saala Khadoos’ lives upto the expectation? It does, & it doesn’t.

Madhavan plays a boxing coach; an example of dedication right in the face of the reluctant sports authority and a rebel against all alleged fishy factors which might influence women’s selection in a team. Being a rebel isn’t rewarding; for all the effort he puts into the welfare of women’s boxing in India, he is paid back with a false accusation of sexually harassing a student and a transfer to Chennai, the Indian city with poorest performance and infrastructure in Women’s boxing. He not only moves to Chennai but also discovers an amusing potential boxer inside a teen-age girl; daughter of a poor fish-seller. How he trains, polishes and brings out a world champion from an ordinary girl who otherwise would go unnoticed, is an energetic inspiring story.

But just not a sports drama, it is as well a half-spoken but beautifully sketched love-story. Madhi (Ritika Singh) was never showered with so much of concern,affection and belief before her ‘master’ started training her, and she falls in love; hard and deep. Sounds cliche? It’s not. Love stories are always cliche, says who? Here’s a coach who gambles with his money, his reputation & his career just to act as the ladder that his student can climb up to. ‘Saala Khadoos’ does end with a note of love; how, we won’t reveal.

Great parts first. Madhavan is at his absolute best. This is so far his career’s finest performance and you can’t take your eyes off him. With a very natural performance from Ritika Singh, her character of a poor,rough-mouthed teen-age girl who is otherwise filled secretly with all the earthly desires of her age, comes alive. We really hope Ritika doesn’t lose her way amidst Bollywood’s stereotypical characters and continues doing off-beat characters. Madhavan is furious, aggressive. Ritika is raw as well as  excited to be stepping into a new world she has never experienced before. And? The mutual affection lies behind each kick, each punch, each slang, each fight, each crisis. Apart from being the saga of a rising star, the film sort of highlights on the undesired ugly political face of sports authority which literally is a slow-poison to the upliftment of women’s sports in a third world country. It’s uncomfortable, and thus it’s realistic.

Here come the poorer parts. Despite having an initially glorious screen-play, the film somehow doesn’t manage to keep up the tempo. If not for Madhavan, this would have turned out a weaker film. We expected the thrills to be more intense, the punches to be more powerful and the script to be more compact & powerful. Also, technicalities of the film are just alight. Santosh Narayanan delivers a mixed performance, with background scores and songs.

You’re very likely to have “Chak De! India” in mind while watching ‘Saala Khadoos’. If the film fills you with mixed re-actions, hold Shimit Amin responsible for that; because he has kept us longing for more of that heroism & patriotism in each sports drama that come our ways; and in that quotient, ‘Saala Khadoos’ could have been better.

We  won’t call it brilliant. But it’s certainly worth watching. Watch it for Madhavan’s beyond brilliant performance, the newly discovered gem named Ritika Singh and the mutual affection where so many shades of emotions have found destinations.

Because, it has its heart at the right place.

Ranjini Maitra

Journalist. Writer. Reader. Enthu cutlet. Mood-swing machine. Day dreamer. Sandwiched between ‘live life fully’ and ‘lose some weight’. Mantra of life: Love and love more.