Striker Movie Review

Friday, February 5, 2010
Rate: 2/5


The story hits off in a North Mumbai ghetto and cuts frequently between the 70’s, the 80’s and 1992- when the communal riots break out in Mumbai. Chandan Arora’s ‘Striker’ is dark and original cinema but seems somewhat lost in translation.
A lower middle class boy from Malvani, Surya’s (Siddharth) childhood is marred by an episode where on losing a carom bet, his elder brother, Chandrakant (Anoop Soni) is beaten up by local goon Jaleel (Aditya Pancholi). Chandra stops playing the game but he secretly coaches the young Surya, who plays truant from school to pursue the game and become a champion.
As a young man, Surya is conned of all his money by a Dubai employment agency making him an angry youth on the loose. Surya’s childhood buddy Zaid (Ankur Vikal), a cocaine addict who works for the feared Jaleel, re introduces a 'desperate for money' Surya to Jaleel and Surya is forced to play the game for Jaleel’s betting den. The fiercely independent Surya refuses to be controlled by Jaleel and the two find themselves at loggerheads. When the communal riots break out, Jaleel takes on a more sinister and bloody role, and Surya suddenly finds himself embroiled in the mess way deeper than he or his family can afford to be.
Chandan Arora captures a terrific atmosphere, deftly recreating the Mumbai of the 1980’s and bringing forth several sincere performances. P.S.Vinod’s evocative lighting and camerawork play an important part in the telling of this unusual tale and the carom sequences are slickly cut together bringing forth to celluloid a somewhat unsung sport. Aditya Panscholi in a career-reprising role is scary as the twisted Jaleel but the real villain of the story is its weak screenplay. Using long-winded tracks to make a small point and adding multiple characters that appear and disappear, the story seems confused and too long for its two hour play.
The brooding Siddharth who made an impact with Rang De Basanti brings a refreshing earnestness to his character but sadly plays the part angry and shouting through most of the film. One often wonders during the narration what Surya’s motives could be as they don’t seem compelling enough for him to be driven to play the game, then to stop playing it, to want to take off to Dubai and then to play the game again.
Ankur Vakil (Slumdog Millionaire) is a good performer, playing the junkie thug Zaid who’s only redeeming factor is his loyalty to his childhood friend Surya. Seema Biswas delivers a competent performance as Surya’s mother but seems unchallenged by her role. Anupam Kher plays a sincere cop trying hard to broker peace during communal tension and refrains from the usual clichés that one can expect from a Muslim Mumbai cop in films.
Inspite of the high strung drama played out by the angry young Surya and the rest of the cast, the carrom matches have very little dramatic effect on the film. The game doesn’t really have much to do with the resolution of the story and this leaves you disappointed and frankly, a little carom ‘bored’.
Yet, the power of the story is strong and the honesty of the film shines through the sagging screenplay. The leading man is not a 2D hero and comes across as a real human being. His silent romance with the burkha clad neighbor Noorie, that is abruptly halted by her moving away, brings a loveable shade to the intense Siddharth. Delivering a heartfelt message and underlined with some beautiful music pieces by an ensemble of music directors including Vishal Bharadwaj, Chandan Arora’s ‘Striker’ pockets the queen but sadly misses a deserving cover.