Soorma Movie Review: Diljit Dosanjh’s film is more a drag than a flick
oorma is meant to be about the inspirational tale of ace hockey player Sandeep Singh, who was accidentally shot in the back during a train journey in 2006. Singh was almost paralysed for a year. Yet, with sheer determination and will, he fought with fate and worked hard to walk again. It didn’t stop there: he led India to victory in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 2009 after defeating Malaysia in the finals at Ipoh. He was also the top goal-scorer of the tournament.
So if you’re expecting the kind of inspiration from Soorma that you did from Chak De India, best not to see this film.
Soorma is more about a botched love story between Sandeep (Dosanjh) and his girlfriend, played by Taapsee Pannu. The love story is inspired by true events, as apparently his career began after he fell in love with the niece of his brother’s coach. The film will repeatedly remind you that Sandeep took up hockey to win over the girl he loved, till you want to knock yourself out with a hockey stick.
Here’s the basic premise of the story. Sandeep starts playing hockey at the Shahbad local training center, just to be close to Harpreet, who is well on her way to make it to the national hockey team. In true Bollywood style, Harpreet falls in love with him, against the coach’s wishes. The coach is a crass monster, of course, whose solution for everything is hitting people with hockey sticks.
To prove his worth, Sandeep trains religiously for the hockey team in Patiala under coach Harry, played by a brilliant Vijay Raaz, who is probably one of the few redeeming factors in this dreary film. Sandeep becomes the hockey player – the drag-flick player we know today, whose skills are mostly highlighted in Indo-Pakistan matches, because we haven’t heard that before, right?
Far from being an inspiring or awe-inducing figure, Sandeep Singh has been portrayed as a unidimensional sketch who is a trifle monotonous at times. It’s a waste of Dosanjh’s capabilities, though he tries earnestly to breathe life into his character. Handicapped by Bollywood stereotypes and annoying clichés, he struggles with the slow pace and poor screenwriting of the film.
Not all is a complete loss, though. Soorma has rare convincing moments in the second half, if you have any patience left. Angad Bedi sinks his teeth into the role of Bikramjit, Sandeep’s elder brother. The moments between the two are actually pleasant to watch and evoke some emotion in you. Satish Kaushik as a father is pleasant to watch too. Sadly, these personal relationships and characters are eclipsed by the boring love story.
Soorma is more a drag than a flick. It is a shame because this was Bollywood’s chance to regale the audience with an inspiring story of a sportsman, whose return to hockey after a life-threatening incident was nothing less than miraculous. The film falls supremely short of harnessing dramatic potential and is just another hackneyed run-of-the-mill biopic. A champion is turned into a colourless Bollywood hero.
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