Review: ‘Lahore’ is high on emotional quotient

Spicezee Bureau

Mumbai: If you thought that ‘Lahore’ would be anything like Pakistan-bashing films ‘Gadar’ or sports oriented movies like ‘Chak De India’, then you are in for surprise. ‘Lahore’ is different – it’s about the spirit of sportsmanship and debutant director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan deserves applause for projecting his vision on the silver screen with supreme dexterity. The film does not deal with popular sports in India like cricket or football or hockey but it’s based on kick-boxing. But here the sport is used more as a metaphor of human bonding and spirit than a mere game. The film also accommodates a great deal of the sporting spirit as seen in the perspective of Indo-Pak politics. The film portrays the love of two brothers and their passion for sports. The plotline is familiar yet the treatment is original. The Indian kick-boxing team selection committee is finalizing the team. The corrupt minister Reddy (K Jeeva) wants his wants his favourite participant to be selected but the good coach Rao (Farooque Shaikh) prefers merit over anything else. They have conflicting opinions over the aspirant boxer, Dhirendra Singh (Sushant Singh), who dreams to qualify on the basis of his merit. Tragedy strikes when during a match with Noor Mohammad (Mukesh Rishi) from Pakistan, Dhirendra Singh succumbs to a deathly blow. His brother Virendra Singh (Aanaahad), who is a cricketer, takes up kick-boxing for the sake of his brother. In Lahore, during a goodwill match between India and Pakistan, Virendra Singh faces Noor Mohammed and this time, winning the game is not the only thing on his mind… The film is high on emotional quotient and the kick-boxing duels are very realistically portrayed. The romance between Aanaahad and Shraddha Das, who plays a Pakistani girl has not come out very well yet it is sweet. The film’s editing is commendable and cinematography is noteworthy especially in the boxing sequences. However, there are occasional glitches in the plot. The performances are good. Aanaahad excels as a boxing champion and Shradha Das looks nice. Sushant Singh delivers a flawless performance. Farooque Shaikh as the Indian coach is simply outstanding and Saurabh Shukla compliments him well. Sabyasachi Chakraborty has done justice to his role of the Pakistani coach. Late Nirmal Pandey gets minimal scope to act in this one. Small wonder then that ‘Lahore’ has registered its presence in the international film festivals. Rating: Three cheers!