Movie Review: Jhund as a passionate story about football
Mumbai: It is nearly impossible to not take a film seriously when stars like Nagraj Manjule and Amitabh Bachchan are involved. People were ecstatically anticipating Nagraj’s film after the huge success of Sairat, and it left us speechless when he announced his Bollywood debut with none other than Senior Bachchan himself.
There has been a massive uproar since the news. When the first teaser and poster were revealed, it just added to the excitement. Though the trailer and songs generated some excitement, the epidemic lengthened the wait.
However, it appeared to be more of a slow-burning film with the sky to touch after it found its audience.
The film is based on the true story of Vijay Barse, a former sports instructor who rehabilitated the lives of slum children by igniting their interest in football. The film will make one cry and laugh, but it is most crucially heartfelt.
Jhund isn’t simply concerned with the classes vs. masses issue. For such gated communities/campuses, a slum is generally the unavoidable eyesore. Even while random males gaze at the well-dressed ladies. So does the hero here, Don (Ankush Gedam), who is always staring at a girl driving her Merc.
The idea remains that, if they played sports instead, the degree of reflexes and athleticism necessary to survive/ace the streets should be an advantage.
This tale is based on Vijay Barse, a sports instructor at Nagpur’s Hislop College who devoted his life to turning homeless youngsters into sports heroes. Barse is played by Amitabh Bachchan.
Ankush Gedam is the film’s biggest surprise, and he gets a lot of screen time. Babu is played by Priyanshu Kshatriya, who is funny. Yogesh Uikey, Rajiya Kazi, Kishor Kadam, Angel Anthony, Vishakha Uikey, Bhushan Manjule (Raziya’s husband), Chhaya Kadam (Vijay’s wife), Arjun Radhakrishnan (Vijay Borade’s son), Surat Limbo (Khelchand, a former peon who became a player), Ashish Khachane (Jagdish; suicidal guy), Sayali Narendra Patil (Bhavana), Suresh Vishvakarma (the shop owner), Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar (Sambhya) are the other actors in the film.
Strong yet subtle remarks on caste and religion, identity and politics, anonymity and hierarchy are found throughout. This film has the feel of a real-life encounter.
Sudhakar Yakkanti Reddy’s cinematography is unique, with particularly well-executed slum and football scenes. The production design by Snigdha Katmahe and Pankaj Shivdas Pool is highly realistic. The screenplay calls for non-glamorous outfits for Priyanka Gayatri Dubey and Mahananda Sagare.
The writing places a premium on class. This is evident in the actors in this film, whether they are football players on the field or actors in this film.
