Mr. and Mrs. Mahi

The protagonist, Mahendra is forced to join the family business after he misses out on being selected for national cricket team. He gets married to a very bright girl, Mahima, who is a young doctor. Inspite of being quite different from each other, they have a common passion - cricket. He spots Mahima’s cricketing talent and convinces her to take up the sport professionally. She follows her heart and prowesses well under the guidance of her husband turned coach, Mahendra. Soon her success gets in the way of their marital relationship, when Mahendra starts feeling insecure and sidelined. On the other hand, Mahima loses focus on her game.

The story is about coming around of both Mahi-s, Mahendra and Mahima – how they fight social pressure, and their inner devils to recognize their true selves. It is equally difficult to say sorry and repair a relationship, without which your mental peace is disturbed, directly affecting your performance.  

You should look out for versatility of Raj Kumar Rao as Mr. Mahi – how well he emotes the struggles faced by an average guy, with the world around him doing nothing but being judgemental about him, his jealousy when Mrs. Mahi (Jahnvi Kapoor) rises to fame and his coming round at the end. This is a one-time watch movie which encourages you to believe in your abilities and give your best shot to pursue your dreams, even if others may not approve of it.

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Chandu Champion

The film opens with an old man coming to a police station, with a grievance against President of India (!!!) and stating his claim for Arjuna award, the prestigious recognition for sports persons. He identifies himself as Murli Kant Rajaram Petkar, and the story goes into flashback.

A young child from a humble background dreams of winning an Olympic medal, but is often ridiculed by his peers. His elder brother brings him to local wrestlers, to learn the sport. Destiny brings him into the army – where he gets trained as a boxer. However, life comes to a standstill when lower part of his body is paralyzed after being riddled by bullets in war. His own family also leaves him to fight his own battle. He takes a second chance at life when his earlier coach, Tiger Ali (Vijay Raaz), trains him for swimming and inspires him to participate in Para-Olympics. He goes on to become the champion he had always dreamt of being.

This movie is definitely a masterpiece that has missed out on the publicity it deserves, I must say. Kartik Aaryan has done  a great job by stepping out of his comfort zone of playing heroes with chocolate boy looks – he looks stunning as a army man turned sportsperson, and even as an old man. Please watch this one for a true story that conveys the inspirational message of resilience, not giving up inspite of all adversity and following your dreams.

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Maidaan

Set in 1950s, when Indian football was below par at international level, this movie talks about the contribution of S. A. Rahim, coach of Indian football team in taking the team literally from rags to riches – from the bottom-most to win Asian Games in 1962. He handpicked the team, coached them, inspired them – but was replaced after a couple of unfortunate defeats, although it was not his fault. He was victimized by a combination of an influential official of Football Federation of India and a senior sports journalist. At the same time, fate also went against him, when he was detected with lung cancer. Rahim Sir, as he was fondly called, came back after two years, because of his track record. Luckily the team chosen by him was intact, and they went on to win the title.

Everyone should watch this epic tale of grit, determination, inspiration and achievement. Ajay Devgn, as Rahim Sir, makes an indelible impression as you join him on this battle with many odds right from the beginning. The football players have been played by young actors who have done justice to their roles. Priyamani looks good in her supporting role as Rahim Sir’s wife. You would feel sheer hatred towards the conspiring characters of Rudranil Banerjee and Gajanand Rao, such is the level of their acting.

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