Picture Credit: Instagram
Film: Saina
Director: Amole Gupte
Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Manav Kaul, Meghna Malik, Shubrajyoti Bharat
The much-awaited biopic of Saina Nehwal is finally out in cinemas on March 26, Friday. The fans would undoubtedly be delighted to see the story of the 'Golden Girl of India' which has been depicted in the movie. The story beautifully connects to the emotions of the audience with the actors putting ahead quality role-play to make the movie a good one to watch for.
First Half
Part 1 of the movie talks about how a young girl from Haryana defeats all odds to finally represent her country at the world stage. Right from Saina's early days at Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium to her winning state championships to finally receiving India's jersey, the inspirational journey of the badminton ace is depicted beautifully in the first half.
Fire and Water - Saina's support system
The support system plays a very crucial role in the life of any sportsperson. In the movie, the role of Saina's parents in her journey is beautifully depicted. While her mom was full of fire as the driving force behind Saina's zeal and passion, her father was the one who played the role of calming personality in her life.
Rare insight to a badminton player's life
The training days of any sportsperson is something that the fans never get to see. It has been well documented in the first half how Saina used to wake up early at 3 am to practice regularly, despite of the hardships she faced. The badminton ace gave her everything to the game to eventually achieve all the unprecedented milestones.
Second Half
Part 2 of the movie depicts how Saina became a youth icon of the nation. While the successful journey was full of obstacles, it was the determination and passion of the girl that never stopped her from achieving her dreams.
Ultimate success and sudden downfall
Saina's journey to the top is very-well shown in the movie. The director, Amol Gupte has focused on how Saina focused on her game, won medals at Commonwealth Games & Olympics and ultimately became the 'Golden Girl of India'. The trap of brand endorsements, downfall, injuries and what not, both the two sides of coin in the life of a sporting star are also well-documented in the movie.
Return of the badminton star
The final half of the movie is all about the second-coming of Saina Nehwal as she chases her dream to reach at top of the rankings. The director does not shy away to show the controversy which made the player leave her former coach to shift to Bengaluru. The movie ends on a high note as Saina eventually becomes World No. 1 on April 2, 2015.
Critical analysis of the movie:
Given Parineeti Chopra is not a professional badminton player, the actor and the cameraman have made sure that the audience don't lose their interest from the movie. However, Parineeti's hard work to match the standards of the professional badminton player is also evident. Meanwhile, songs have been adjusted beautifully in the movie to give a boost to the inspirational and emotional scenes.
Rating : 3 out of 5
The fans should be satisfied with how the journey of one of the most successful sportspersons of India is covered in the movie. The movie will surely inspire a lot of young Indian girls to take up the sport. It will also encourage the parents to support their children in their dreams, which is one of the most beautiful parts of the movie. However, fans would want to know more about Saina's CWG 2010 and Olympics 2012 success, which has not been covered in detail. Overall, it is a well-documented biopic with a perfect balance of sports, personal life, emotion and passion.
Note: Rohan Gulaty and Aditya Kumar watched the first day first show of movie 'Saina' and this review is completely based on their experience after watching it. This write-up in no way reflects the view of SportsTiger or any other media organisation.