In India, cricket is much much more than just a game; it is a passion, an obsession, a religion! VICTORY is the heroic story of Vijay Shekhawat and his father Ram Shekhawat, who saw such an impossible dream for his son! Victory movie review…
Based on current happenings from the World of Indian Cricket, Victory personifies the challenges and dilemmas that almost every aspirant for the Indian Cricket Team faces and has to endure. Some emerge triumphant; some fall by the wayside, while some have to undergo a trial by fire to test their character and self-belief before their fate is decided.
Victory is the story of one such aspirant and his journey through the minefield of being a Cricket Celebrity in India…
It is about Vijay Shekhawat (Harman Baweja) hailing from the small town of Jaisalmer,and his father Ram Shekhawat (Anupam Kher). The father has great aspirations for his son and hopes one day, Vijay will play for the Indian cricket team one day, which eventually comes true when Vijay makes it to the Indian team. Apart from his dad, the only person who believed in him is his childhood friend Nandu (Amrita Rao).
Victory is the story of a father, Ram Shekhawat, who saw such an impossible dream for his son! This is also the heroic story of his son Vijay Shekhawat. Vijay Shekhawat becomes India’s latest world-class batting sensation and is catapulted to superstardom!
But it is the glamour and the glitter of this very demi-god status that makes the young, vulnerable small-town boy Vijay stray from his true vocation of cricket. Unfortunately this leads to a loss of focus and to a miserable drop in his performance. But by the time Vijay realizes the error of his ways, it is too late and he finds himself thrown out of the Indian cricket team because of disciplinary reasons. Suddenly the hero of the cricket crazy India becomes a villain in everyone’s eyes. His father Ram Shekhawat’s dreams are shattered and suffers a paralytic stroke.
This tragedy awakens Vijay’s conscience and sense of honor. He wants to redeem himself in the eyes of his father and every Indian. Against great odds, he once again makes it back to the Indian team and gets to play in the finals of the Champion’s trophy against Australia where he plays a stellar role in enabling India to win the Trophy. Where in the emotionally moving final, in spite of being hospitalized mid-innings because of an injury, Vijay returns to bat, risking permanent injury, when India are nine down, to pull off an impossible victory against the world champion, Ricky Ponting’s Australia.
In this match Vijay Shekhawat fulfils his father’s dreams and enters the pantheon of Indian cricket.
Harman Baweja plays the earnest cricketer, Amrita Rao is subdued while there are impressive performances from the older actors Anupam Kher, Gulshan Grover and Dalip Tahil in particular.
To give the film Victory, an authentic look, it has special appearances by several international cricketers like Murlitharan, Jayasuria, Brett Lee and many others from Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand and India.
Victory is an insightful, dramatic, large-scale film which charts the journey of dreams of every average Indian who hopes to make it big in Indian Cricket, particularly a cricketer’s dreams of adulation and success, in every sphere of life.
Cast of Victory:
Vijay Shekhawat – Harman Baweja
Nandini – Amrita Rao
Ram Shekhawat – Anupam Kher
Andy Singh – Gulshan Grover
Indian Coach Dilip Malhotra – Dalip Tahil
Shakuntala – Smita Hai
Chander – Arun Bakshi
Chutku – Anupam Maanav
Vedpal – Tinnu Anand
Credits & Crew of Victory:
Production House – Walkwater Media and Moving Pictures
Producers – Manmohan Shetty, Ajit Pal Mangat
Director – Ajit Pal Mangat
Story & Screenplay – Ajit Pal Mangat, Kannan Iyer
Dialogues – Darab Farooqui, Anupam Maanav
Original Music – Anu Malik
Cinematography – Sanjay F. Gupta, Attar Singh Saini, Gopal Shah, Vikas Sivaraman
Film Editing – Ballu Saluja
Casting – Rahul Bhushan, Anupam Maanav
Production Design – Wasiq Khan
Art Direction – Tariq Umar Khan, Khan Tariq Umar
Costume Design – Shaheed Amir, Nimisha Khimji, Ashley Rebello
Stunts – Parvez Khan
Victory, movie review