Ghoomer Film Review : From ‘Dhoom’ to ‘Ghoom’, Paddy Sir has come a long way
A sports movie with my favourite actor as a downtrodden reject who gets a chance at redemption.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s Ghoom!
R Balki. Cheeni Kum. Paa. Shamitabh. Chup. Pad Man. His films’s pitches sound like an ad copy (surprise surprise). The Balki style of films have become a sub-genre of their own now, with Gauri Shinde’s films like English Hinglish and Dear Zindagi and some millennial favourite films like Zindagi Na Milegi dobara or Ye Jawani Hai Deewani some more examples. These films wear this aspect(well marketed, witty, precise meter of screenplay — radical concept, conflict, pay off/twist, crisp lines that may feel like a punchline at more places than one) on their sleeves. Sleeves. Pitch. I am already moving into cricket motifs. May be walking out of an R Balki film can rub off on you. I never saw anything after Paa from him in a directorial capacity, however I did like Mission Mangal a lot which he was creatively involved with. But since I watch all Abhishek Bachchan films, I had to be present for this.
Speaking of Abhishek Bachchan, he challenges me as a fan sometimes, does films with most of the makers that I am not particularly fond of — Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar, Anurag Basu. From his recent movie and OTT outings, the thing I liked the most was Breathe Into The Shadows, a two season show on Amazon Prime that I just loved for it let him bite into layered portrayal of an anti-hero like only an OTT show can. I did like Bob Biswas too, it was like a slick Hollywood style crime dark humour that fit in quite nicely with the Kolkata setting of sleazy detectives and street chowmein sellers who double up as arm suppliers to friendly neighbourhood serial killers.
His association with Balki goes back not only to Paa but also to ‘What an Idea Sirji’ campaign.
Coming back to Ghoomer, Balki takes no time in assaulting you with ‘how clever was that’ dad jokes vibe. And you settle with it well like Paddy Sir settles with his drinks during Happy Hour at the cricket association bar.
Saiyami Kher is always great with her piercing eyed portrayals but this film clearly is her finest lead role yet.
The writing, the direction, her character are all so well married, it is a joy to watch even though you know the beats are predictable. Balki makes this narration lush with oddities in all shapes and forms, be it her family members or the world that she inhabits. This is a very sparse filmy-Pune like world. May be a rare Bollywood film which has no lines spoken by a cop.
When the brightness and positivity gets a bit much to believe, in walks a drunken Abhishek Bachchan and you can see how much fun they are having with so many elements- the dark but satirical look at the underdog has been or has not been, the age gap, the promise of a bright future and the tropes of the cricketing real talk.
The first scene of Paddy interacting with Anina beautifully sets up the entire premise. This (probably my top 3 scenes of the film overcrowded with well-staged and enacted scenes) is very good writing, blended with perfect execution from screen to page.
From then on, the story takes the dark twist of fate with the injury but what I liked was the fresh treatment and editing. The tragic portions are done in montage with a great score by Amit Trivedi doing some heavy lifting. The focus shifts to Paddy’s character and it is here that the film shines. I feel despite playing a foil to Saiyami Kher, Abhishek Bachchan makes Paddy the real hero. Personally, he is much more exciting to watch, there is always some antic up his sleeve, there is always some ‘drunk uncle’ charm he will pull out from his bag of tricks. And any Abhishek Bachchan true believer will have a joy ride through all these scenes, where he mouths one snide remark after other, wry like rye whiskey(Balki effect!).
When the narrative meanders with return of punny/witty dialog and one smart quip too many, the performances bring the intensity right back, like the brilliant Happy Diwali sequence.
I was surprised, fascinated and, pun incoming, bowled over by the climax. Without any spoilers, Balki brings it all back to Cricket like only a true cricket fan could, capturing the fine nuances of the fandom around the sport and also some intellectual observations(a signature of his).
The last 20–30 minutes of Ghoomer are as much fun as you will have in any movie playing at a packed theatre all year, recalling not only entertaining sports dramas but also films that reinvent a known trope.
A quick aside, like in every theatre watch these days, there was group of know-it-all-nancies and smart-alecs in my theatre too, who kept commenting like experts in every situation of life or game portrayed in the movie. Even they were shut into silence with the film’s concluding moments. And that shows how a modern filmmaker can sell you a movie if he has honest intentions and right resources at hand.
There is a bit of Tamil cinema twist element in Ghoomer too which Balki does with seamless touch(please leave me, cricket puns).
I like it that Ghoomer starts off with a predictable story but goes to all these places and none of them are overtly philosophical or boring. Everything is extremely joyous to watch, be it the coach’s own journey(guilt of loss, hope of redemption, derision of society, literally seven stages of grief), or the player’s emotional roller-coaster of an arc, be it the witty one-liners of Anina’s mom(Shabana Azmi ironically embraces the dad jokes department with a seasoned pride), or the time the film actually goes outdoors into the public eye.
It is a film that is inherently dark in all these phases, and that lends to how rich it is with meaning, motifs and constant urge to do a bit more. It doesn’t make it tiring, but it makes it fresh and creatively very satisfying to witness. Much like the memorable last frame of the film, where the coach leans on to the player in a beautiful moment of pay off as Amit Trivedi’s empowering title song leaves you teary-eyed.
Baradwaj Rangan’s pointed review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY-Y-et-UiA
