It's not surprising that you see people churning out Sports Documentaries so often these days. The format, although not new, plays a crucial role in exploring the success of the team, building legends and stoking fandom for the franchise. That said, I believe you must have a larger purpose for the story-telling and without that in place, all the effort results in much grunt work and panting breath but fizzles out leaving you wondering what all the fuss was all about!
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews #JaipurPinkPanthersSonsoftheSoil, the new docuseries on #AbhishekBachchan’s Kabaddi franchise. This is streaming now on #AmazonPrime and is directed by #AlexGale and #OmkarPotdar. The five-part series is a light and breezy watch and follows the journey of the team during the seventh edition of the #ProKabaddiLeague season.
“I go all in emotionally. We are not here to play. We are here to win the cup” #AbhishekBachchan starts off in full earnest. I like the way the players and AB himself drop their guard and are willing to let their vulnerabilities show. I also like the build up as the show moves from state to state and mixes up the personal and professional lives of the players.
But that’s all there is to it. The rest of the show leaves you in a weird confusion. A lot of scripted lines, monotonous interviews and candid conversations do not make for the emotional high that sport can give you. PKL commentator #SuhailChandok provides many of the ringside comments on the show but the manner in which he is seated in the exact same position and the camera angle make for staid viewing, episode after episode.
Fans of the #ProKabaddileague will no doubt enjoy the show. The league has done the unthinkable for the sport. It has lifted a rural, unglamourous sport that most Indians grow up with into a glitzy, high adrenaline razzmatazz that has caught the attention of both sports fans and corporates. The colourful mats, dazzle of lights and the carefully styled makeover of the players takes the sport and elevates it several notches. And add to that the Bollywood line with owner #AbhsihekBachchan and his family rooting for the team. Right upfront, Abhishek makes reference to how the Mahabharata had Abhimanyu entering the Chakravyuh and how this is likened to the raider entering the Kabaddi court.
Watch out for the the blink-and-you-miss moments of #AmitabhBachchan providing his two-bits of advice and a visibility excited #AishwaryaRaiBachchan egging on the players. The team stars the players #DeepakHooda, #AmitHooda, #SandeepDhull, #DeepakNarwal, #NitinRawal and #NileshSalunke, besides head coach #SrinivasReddy and #BuntyWalia. For most of these players coming from humble backgrounds, I must say that they seem perfectly at ease with the cameras following them around. However, one misses the emotion and the passion and most of the “tense moments” seem almost manufactured!
I liked the moments when you sneak into coach #SrinivasReddy’s house and his wife, #RadhikaReddy ( PKL commentator on #StarSportsTelugu) talks about how they leave him alone when the team isn't doing well. I also liked the candid moments at the players homes and how they remain unfazed with the glamorous owners of the franchises. A player’s mother is shown affectionately giving him a head massage and asking him if #AbhishekBachchan will get him married!
What does not work though is how the lines are almost read out as if from a script. Sample this “Sport teaches you a lot about character. And when you are losing, it shows your character all the more” or “I believe in second chances”. The strategy meetings seem very ordinary and the “heated exchanges” between the team members seem very flat. I think the show falls into the trap of assembling together all the pieces but forgets about making the sum of the parts bigger than the whole. You need to have a larger purpose of why you are documenting a story and without that, it does nothing. Sport is about inspiration. And a tale that that does not provide you with inspiration is bound to ring hollow!
Comments