A has-been player-turned-grouch reluctantly coaches the underdog and achieves mission impossible. This is a storyline that has been done to death, especially in Bollywood. But R. Balki’s Ghoomer adds a spin to the tale by picking a female athlete whose odds are not just where she comes from or a disability that she has her whole life to comprehend but an accident that snatches from her a promising career in a matter of hours.
Anina (Saiyami Kher) is a right-handed batting prodigy whose dream of playing for India is shattered when a freak accident leads to the amputation of her right arm on the eve of their England tour, right after she is brought to tears by a drunk has-been spin bowler, Padam Singh Sodhi (Abhishek Bachchan).
Having her dream snatched away leaves Anina angry and hurting and lashing out at any sign of sympathy, including at her boyfriend Jeet (Angad Bedi), and Saiyami is absolutely brilliant in her portrayal of the character’s pain and frustration. In comes Padam Singh Sodhi aka Paddy sir, who drunkenly insults her again for giving up on life and challenges her to take up bowling and fulfil her dream of playing for Team India. And so begins the Karate Kid-like sequence of doing odd jobs to train the body before the actual bowling drill has even begun. Except Paddy is no Mister Miyagi. He is not just grouchy, he is rude and offensive and mean as a snake.
Abhishek Bachchan gives it his all, even though the character is underwritten. For all the meanness that makes it difficult to find any redemptive arc in him — except for the fact that he has paid for the transition of a transwoman who he treats as a sister; unfortunately she is more of a prop than anything else — there is hardly a backstory, except a drunken soliloquy where we understand where all his bitterness is coming from. We are given a glimpse at what motivates him to take on Anina, something that is a mix of knowing what she is going through and a chance for reflected glory. But a revelation towards the end of the film throws everything he does for Anina into question.
We see Anina going from someone who has never bowled a ball in her life to someone who finds the perfect line and length, but she lacks pace, a physical hindrance that is compensated by a bowling action on the turn that is quickly named ‘ghoomer’. Her selection to the Indian women’s team happens so easily that it feels more like a miracle (or maybe just like Bollywood).
The acting is the best part of a film that is simplistic, even though it is sincere and earnest, and both Abhishek and Saiyami carry the film on their very able shoulders. Saiyami’s commitment to her role, especially in the training sequences, is commendable. You see her frustration and her determination. You see her feeling discouraged but rising to the challenge every day. Then there is Shabana Azmi, Anina’s cricket-crazy grandmother, who is phenomenal in her role as the quietly supportive presence in her life. She, a supportive and proud father, and annoying but loving siblings make up the counterpoint to the mean presence of Paddy but there is too little of them, the focus resting solely on Paddy and his interjections in her life.
The actual cricket match where Anina makes her international debut for India is exciting and the tension is palpable despite knowing that unlike in Ted Lasso, in Hindi cinema the underdog always wins in a do-or-die situation. The match is made more interesting by the inimitable presence of Amitabh Bachchan who plays himself and adds much needed levity and zing to the proceedings, through his commentary.
Ghoomer is an enjoyable one-time watch that will leave you emotional and in high spirits, but it falls short of the asking rate because of the lack of edge and depth needed to transform it from a good movie to a remarkable one.
