This Hindi movie is a pretty straightforward slice-of-life story that tries to give a modern look at what it's like to be a single, professional gay man. It dives into how he understands who he is, the chances he missed out on, and the personal choices he’s made along the way. The director used three parallel timelines to tell the story, which honestly didn't make much sense to me. While the core idea was actually pretty interesting, I really feel like this would have worked way better as a short film considering the point it was trying to make. Still, it wasn't a bad watch. The plot centers on Rachit, a city professional, and his friend Shikhar as they hang out for an evening. Rachit is a polished, urban guy, while Shikhar has more of a "small-town" rustic vibe, and you can really see the contrast between them when they talk. As the night goes on, Rachit starts thinking back to some old memories from a long time ago. He remembers being an intern after college in ...
I am surprised that I had not heard of this movie before I saw it. It is such a fantastic movie specially about human relationships. It is not just a boxing movie as most would like to think, rather the film focuses very heavily on the protagonist and his trainer and this is what makes this film an experience to watch. Tommy Riley is a young and gifted boxer, who has completely lost his self-confidence after a mistake in Olympic trails and his relationship with his girlfriend is now at stake. Concurrently we meet Marty Goldberg, an obese, has been trainer who left the ring because of a dark demon he harbors and has turned to teaching high school English. Marty is friends with Diane whom he saved sometime ago and is now a boxing promoter. When Marty spots Tommy, he asks him to call him so that he can train him. Things are going fine and the trust and bond between the 2 is impeccable. Tommy is starting to gain back his confidence. Before one of the big fights, Tommy and Marty go to Marty's cabin in the woods to train without distractions. After several days, during a rubdown following a workout, Marty touches Tommy inappropriately. Tommy reacts strongly negatively and Marty apologizes. They agree to ignore the incident but return to the city ahead of schedule. When Tommy wins, he wants to take everyone out but a big promoter at the same time takes them out which Marty refuses to go. The same night, he ends up in hospital. This is when Diane tells Tommy that when Marty was a fighter, people threatened to expose Marty's homosexuality, so he ended his career by putting his hand through a window and damaging it. He became a teacher and his influence led Diane to make herself a success. After his big win, one of the biggest firms offer Tommy a million dollar for a title fight but they want him to leave Marty which Marty also wants so that Tommy can go further in life. Tommy refuses the deal if it means leaving Marty. Marty tries to alienate Tommy and ultimately ends up killing himself. Finally we see Tommy going for his big fight regaining his confidence after he sees an image of Marty, his inspiration wearing his old ring robe.
Both the lead characters are absolutely fantastic in their performances. Rarely as a film about sports been influenced by the presence of sexual preferences, but Marty's character does it with elan and dignity. And the manner in which Tommy finesses both the initial advances from Marty and then gradually alters his response in understanding his behavior is nothing short of miraculous acting. I loved the trainer's sense of caring and him personally, and it is one of the triumphs of this flick that Tommy Riley does too, in his own hetero way. More importantly, trust, character, and humane values are validated here as well.
There is a lesson here about intergenerational relationships, as well as how we sexualize friendships undesirably. (7/10)
Comments