The moment you spot that over-sized mole on #ParineetiChopra’s cheek in a make-up attempt at mimicking #SainaNehwal’s look, you know that they lost the plot. The essence of a sports biopic lies in capturing the underlying emotion and the motivations of the athlete and not in getting the facts right. The biopic focuses on explaining why the champion behaves in a certain way while the sports documentary just gets the chronology of events right. If after watching the biopic, you do not get an insight into the tensions, vulnerabilities and motivations of the hero, you know that you have only skimmed the surface. As film critic #AnupamaChopra says, the sports film is now a “cottage industry” with the same formula of underdog from small town, egged on by pushy parents and en egoistic coach traversing the hard yards to failure, turnaround to eventual success and the trademark dialling up of nationalistic fervour.
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews #Sania now streaming on #AmazonPrime. #ParineetiChopra plays out the life of the badminton champion with a whopping 24 individual titles to her name, including one Olympic bronze medal. Writer & Director #AmoleGupte (#StanleykaDabba) choses to narrate the story as a flashback in her own voice. The treatment is like an upfront smash of the shuttle and completely devoid of any subteliety.
#Saina calls herself ‘Bharat ki Beti’ and recollects how her mother Usha (#MeghnaMalik in an effervescent role) remains the prime driver behind her career. In the visages of the flashback, we see Usha playing badminton, while pregnant with Saina. In another scene, Usha is seen slapping the young Saina for coming back with a silver medal and being satisfied with it. The father and elder sister remain in the shadows and some interesting opportunities of what could have been simmering tensions between the sisters of even the parents are eschewed in the straitjacketed narration of Saina’s triumphs and tribulations.
The match sequences are well done and gripping and build up the requisite tension. The sets look realistic, production values and background sound design are nicely done. The story also picks up on the relationship Saina had with #PullelaGopichand (played by a rather competent #ManavKaul) and their eventual separation. Saina moves to Bangalore and chooses to train with a new coach (#AnkurVikal playing Vimal Kumar with a rather horrible Malayali accent). Her romantic interest in the film is played by #EhsanNaqvi, her beau in real life #ParupalliKashyap. Unfortunately, the film does not do any justice to him and he is best left a bystander amidst the going-ons.
The problem with #Saina is that it takes the easy way out and focuses on authenticity. What you really miss is then the Ethos and the Emotion. Without that, the story is too bland and abandoned as soon as you switch off your stream.
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