31. Mukkabaaz (The Brawler); movie review

MUKKABAAZ (THE BRAWLER)
Cert 15
154 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, violence

Oh, no, Mrs W.  She decided not to brave the freezing rain for a trip to Nottingham Cineworld and she has missed one of the best Bollywood movies I have seen in a very long time.
Anurag Kashyap's Mukkabaaz is an intense and unusual love story, a sports film and a battle against the caste system rolled into one.
In Jimmy Shergill it has one of the most devastatingly despicable villains likely to be seen at the cinema this year.
And yet, despite its acclaim, Mukkabaaz is not doing particularly well at the box office. I can only hope word of mouth revives it.
Vineet Kumar Singh plays the film's lead role of a boxer who is desperate to achieve the status in the sport which brings with it a government job.
Meanwhile, he falls in love with a beautiful young woman (Zoya Hussain) who has been unable to speak since birth.
Unfortunately, he has a massive falling out with his coach (Shergill) who also happens to be her domineering uncle.
I probably found Mukkabaaz so enthralling because, unlike many movies to come out of India, it didn't waste a minute - indeed, despite lasting more than two and a half hours, it felt half as long.
It also has western appeal because it does not dilute the intense drama by going off at comedy or song and dance tangents.
Yes, there his music and romance but it fits within the context of one man's fight against the discrimination of the caste system.
And there are three high-quality contributions from its leads - Kumar Singh is a compelling hero, Hussain is his terrifically feisty foil but Shergill's villain is the pick.
At the beginning of Mukkabaaz it is claimed it is based on a true story and at the end, there is a summary of what happened to various characters in real life.
However, I can find no mention of them elsewhere. I am guessing they must be very well disguised otherwise I could imagine law suits resulting.

Reasons to watch: superb cast in one of the most enthralling Bolly films in a while
Reasons to avoid: the boxing action may put some off

Laughs: a couple of chuckles
Jumps: two
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 9/10

Director's quote - Anurag Kashyap: “We have more sports movies than medals. The film comes from that sad situation. In population, we come after China but in medal tally, we always lag behind."

The big question - if India has so many dedicated sportsmen and women why doesn't it match its weight in medals?

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