MARY KOM:
First things first... it's (as the name suggests) the story of a champion boxer from India... who truly rose like a phoenix, battling several odds, fighting all hurdles to make her nation proud... she is someone who sure is an inspiration to all, with a story worth to be told... and known!
And she is ably portrayed by the versatile Ms.Chopra... who shuns all the glitz, glamor and sex appeal that comes naturally to her, and acts her heart out in one of her career best performances... she looks raw, and the blemishes added to her perfect face does not come anywhere close to the physical transformation she has brought about in herself for the role... her fitness, agility and ability has to be seen to be believed! and manages to make all her preparations, homework and dedication look effortless and believable... she does not fail to impress even in parts where the script wavers and falters...
The supporting cast are tremendous in their roles, too...
Sunil Thapa as her revered coach, fits his role perfectly, and leaves his mark behind although he's under-utilized in quite a few parts... and Darshan Kumaar as Onler Kom has a pleasantness in the way he looks and acts, something that lifts up his character to another level...
The evil-ish Mr.Sharma is fab, too... the rest of the cast have little to do, but the one who plays Tonpa, Mary's father stands out in his small role...
Mary's is a story that would have made for an inspiring movie, and the makers do get it right to an extent... the screenplay is decent, the lines good, with an occasional one-liner...
But the real problem in here is in the direction and the editing... the editing is largely faulty... the movie is too non-linear in the first half, sometimes unnecessarily... the movie moves back in forth a bit too often, which does not really add up... and is also over-edited at places...
The direction is flawed... maybe the subject was too heavy for a first attempt... and the director largely glosses over as many aspects in her life as possible, eventually leaving almost all of them under-detailed and superficial...
Though it starts out on a positive note, and you connect to Mary in her initial phases, I lost the connect midway.. there are just too many events in too little time... some of them, like the problems they face when she is about to deliver, and she trying to get a decent job under her sports quota, are strong, but don't really fit in...
And there is way too much drama in a biopic... one should here understand the difference of making a movie about a real story and making a movie out of a real story... the former keeps it real, while the latter comes with cinematic adulteration that dilutes the impact of a real story... sadly, this one tends towards the latter...
Mary is, no doubt a superhero in her own right... but she has had her share of struggles... and failures... but the makers try portraying her as a comic-book superhero, who wins gold all along... and do not really try to highlight her silver and bronze victories... and her struggle, especially during her comeback, should have been more organic...
Be it her first world championship, or the climactic comeback, her combat intercut with personal turmoil is an unnecessary overdose of melodrama, and divides the focus from her boxing, which should have ideally been the highlight...
Also, some inconsistencies... like Mr.Sharma's dislike towards Mary Kom... you initially lead to think he is not in favor of women as athletes, until, in the second half, Mary forces in the angle of his bias towards girls from Manipur, which is left unclear all till the end...
The climax, too comes in as abrupt... a point when not many in the audience would have expected the movie to end...
Technically, the movie is brilliant, with the director Omung Kumar himself being a famed art director, with a vibrant, agile and perfect cinematography... the music is decent, and background score good...
All in all, a good attempt to showcase the life of a living legend... topped by some fabulous performances, but a somewhat wavering storyline and direction...
First things first... it's (as the name suggests) the story of a champion boxer from India... who truly rose like a phoenix, battling several odds, fighting all hurdles to make her nation proud... she is someone who sure is an inspiration to all, with a story worth to be told... and known!
And she is ably portrayed by the versatile Ms.Chopra... who shuns all the glitz, glamor and sex appeal that comes naturally to her, and acts her heart out in one of her career best performances... she looks raw, and the blemishes added to her perfect face does not come anywhere close to the physical transformation she has brought about in herself for the role... her fitness, agility and ability has to be seen to be believed! and manages to make all her preparations, homework and dedication look effortless and believable... she does not fail to impress even in parts where the script wavers and falters...
The supporting cast are tremendous in their roles, too...
Sunil Thapa as her revered coach, fits his role perfectly, and leaves his mark behind although he's under-utilized in quite a few parts... and Darshan Kumaar as Onler Kom has a pleasantness in the way he looks and acts, something that lifts up his character to another level...
The evil-ish Mr.Sharma is fab, too... the rest of the cast have little to do, but the one who plays Tonpa, Mary's father stands out in his small role...
Mary's is a story that would have made for an inspiring movie, and the makers do get it right to an extent... the screenplay is decent, the lines good, with an occasional one-liner...
But the real problem in here is in the direction and the editing... the editing is largely faulty... the movie is too non-linear in the first half, sometimes unnecessarily... the movie moves back in forth a bit too often, which does not really add up... and is also over-edited at places...
The direction is flawed... maybe the subject was too heavy for a first attempt... and the director largely glosses over as many aspects in her life as possible, eventually leaving almost all of them under-detailed and superficial...
Though it starts out on a positive note, and you connect to Mary in her initial phases, I lost the connect midway.. there are just too many events in too little time... some of them, like the problems they face when she is about to deliver, and she trying to get a decent job under her sports quota, are strong, but don't really fit in...
And there is way too much drama in a biopic... one should here understand the difference of making a movie about a real story and making a movie out of a real story... the former keeps it real, while the latter comes with cinematic adulteration that dilutes the impact of a real story... sadly, this one tends towards the latter...
Mary is, no doubt a superhero in her own right... but she has had her share of struggles... and failures... but the makers try portraying her as a comic-book superhero, who wins gold all along... and do not really try to highlight her silver and bronze victories... and her struggle, especially during her comeback, should have been more organic...
Be it her first world championship, or the climactic comeback, her combat intercut with personal turmoil is an unnecessary overdose of melodrama, and divides the focus from her boxing, which should have ideally been the highlight...
Also, some inconsistencies... like Mr.Sharma's dislike towards Mary Kom... you initially lead to think he is not in favor of women as athletes, until, in the second half, Mary forces in the angle of his bias towards girls from Manipur, which is left unclear all till the end...
The climax, too comes in as abrupt... a point when not many in the audience would have expected the movie to end...
Technically, the movie is brilliant, with the director Omung Kumar himself being a famed art director, with a vibrant, agile and perfect cinematography... the music is decent, and background score good...
All in all, a good attempt to showcase the life of a living legend... topped by some fabulous performances, but a somewhat wavering storyline and direction...
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