The much awaited bio-pic on 5 times world amateur boxing champion in her weight category – MARY KOM is out now.
Mary Kom, the film begins with Mary (played by Priyanka Chopra). Why does she have to have freckles on her face, is difficult to fathom. Fighting it out for her friend, beating a grown up boy and excitedly barging in a Boxing academy where she pleads the coach to train her.
In a true guru style, the coach M. Narjit Singh (played by Sunil Thapa) tests her patience and is ultimately won over by her commitment. The movie continues lucidly and it is shown that the zealous student fighter is chosen for her first national championships, which she wins with ease.
Then on to getaway pastures of international championships where she brings glory to the country.
Then the inevitable happens and she falls in love, and promptly after winning her gold medal in a championship event in China, she promptly marries her sweet heart K (Karung) Onler Kom (played by Darshan Kumar).
Onler Kom has been her admirer since the time she picked up a fight against a local street fighter, and he back her to get her prize money of Rs 900 fighting the local guy for 45 seconds. Onler has been her pillar of strength through her subsequent ups and downs.
Coach Narjit Singh is very disappointed.
In the meantime, Mary Kom has earned the respect of the local people around her, which is depicted during the curfew in her village, when a Manipuri insurgent recognizes her as the boxing champion and facilitates her passage to the maternity hospital.
After the birth of her twins, the screenplay meanders as to how much unflinching support is offered by her husband to join the ring again.
There are some realistic and touch moments about how she overcomes the efforts to dissuade her for the championships from the official of the Boxing Federation, and more importantly, how she wins over her coach to train her yet again.
The climax of MARY KOM is very filmy and it seems presumably a lot of filmy liberties have been taken by the director to depict some sensitive moments in reality in life of this boxing champ.
Credits to the production team as they have realistically created the feel and look of Manipur, without shooting at the real locations in this troubled state of India.
The character playing her husband in the film is impressive. Only that the ‘extra efforts’ put in by Ms Chopra for enacting the troubles and tribunals of Mary’s life seem a bit unrealistic, maybe its due to the fact that the actress wanted to portray the champ in a glamorous avatar.
The focus is only on the positive instances in Mary Kom’s life, and not to depicts the darker incidents and the pain and trauma, which she might have actually gone through.
But it is a feel good experience seeing a person excel in sports in a population of over One billion plus, it gives you goose bumps and that feeling of ‘Chak De India’ moments.
Click on the Thumbnails for ENLARGED PICS of MARY KOM:
CAST of MARY KOM:
Priyanka Chopra as Mary Kom
Darshan Kumaar as Onler Kom (Mary’s husband)
Sunil Thapa M. Narjit Singh (Boxing coach)
Minakkshi Kalitaa as Mangte Kom
Zachary Coffin as the German Boxing coach
Shishir Sharma as Mary’s Coach in later life
Credits of MARY KOM:
Director – Omung Kumar
Creative Director – Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Co-Producer – Sandeep Singh
Executive Producer – Chetan Deolekar
Director Of Photography – Keiko Nakahara
Production Designer – Vanita Omung Kumar
Editors – Rajesh G Pandey & Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Story-Screenplay by Saiwyn Quadras
Dialogues by Karan Singh Rathore – Ramendra Vasishth
Music by Shashi – Shivamm
Lyrics by Prashant Ingole – Sandeep Singh
Costume Designers – Rajat Tangri, Isha Mantri
Casting – Shruti Mahajan, Parag Mehta
Background Score – Rohit Kulkarni
Sound Designer – Chiranjibi Bipin Nanda
Boxing Choreography – Rob Miller
Action Director – Parvez Shaikh
Production Team – Mahesh Kumar Jaiswal, Aftab Qureshi, Zafar Mehdi, Siddharth Chedda
