Mary Kom

I have read a lot of criticism of this film lately. Many critics commented that the film lacked a proper melodrama and screenplay could have been bettered. Well, I also felt the film lacked certain punches in the screenplay; but overall, the film is a very sincere effort to present the life story of a sports person. I simply found three very strong reasons to admire this film.

The first reason is the story. Very few Hindi films have done justice with the real life characters. And this one fully handles the story of a north Indian girl who defies her father by choosing boxing. Bollywood recently lacked good stories in its films and "Mary Kom" just sincerely fills the void. The second reason is its clarity in presentation. The film nowhere compromises for the formulaic sequences and remains truthful to its backdrop. Very few directors dare to make a complete sports movie which this does. And the last and the most strong reason is the performances. Though Priyanka doesn't look like a North Indian girl she steals the show by appearing ferocious boxer and a loving mother. Perhaps this is her second best film I've watched after "Fashion." Similarly, Sunil Thapa and Darshaan Kumar in very unpolished roles also do deliver good performances.

Well, don't go with a great hype for this film. It's simply a good and a naturalistic film in a dearth of good movies. Trust me, you won't leave your seats with a scorn.

Rating: 3 stars out of 4

No, this isn't 'Million Dollar Baby" and No, this isn't "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" too. But it literally reveals you the real Mary Kom: A Boxer, A Fighter, A Wife, A Mother and A Gentle soul. It works because it has got heart at the right place and it's the moments which makes it a 'feel- good' cinematic offering. Despite following the same (read,overdone) structure which many sports theme based films worldwide have used and even some of the crucial parts which have literally been extended, just for the heck of generating extra emotional factor, the film at some extent, succeeds in showing the Struggle, the Nepotism, the Red-Tape and the hope in an entertaining manner which makes it a worth your buck. Based on the Boxing legend MC Mary Kom, the film, within it's compact cinematic constraint scores because of it's supporting characters, especially Suraj Thapa, Rajni Basumatary, Shishir Sharma, Darrshan Kumar Singh and Lin Laishram who brilliantly add support to the protagonist, the hard-hitting dialogues penned by Karan Singh Rathore and Ramedra Vashishth with an excellent Manipuri touch by Bijou Thaangjam, the comes a canvas-like cinematography by Keiko Nakahara, editing by Rajesh G. Pandey and Sanjay Leela Bhansali is somewhere quite classy, the production design work by Vanita Omung Kumar and then the BG Score by Rohit Kulkarni. Full marks to Priyanka Chopra, who showcases the best of her energy, stamina and excellence on screen, carrying the film brilliantly on her shoulders. Overall, despite having being strayed in between in showcasing the best of Magnificent Mary, director Omung Kumar at some extent, succeeds in showcasing the legend and her times, which makes it a must watch not only for entertainment, but for some new energy, some 'feel-good' factor and even the need of having more focus on our other Champions.

What's Good: Priyanka Chopra's career best performance. What's Bad: Dramatic climax.

Bollywood always follow a trend of success.Since past few years the most successful genre is Bio-pics like Chak De India, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and now Mary Kom.This year only countable good movies have entertained us and most of them are women-oriented like Queen, Mardaani, Mary Kom.It seems like these women-oriented flicks are coming out at right time, as i have witnessed during the screening after the last punch the ladies gave standing ovation to Mary Kom.Mary Kom is about how a poor girl from Manipur made her way to top against all odds.Her struggle, her passion, her madness, her love towards Boxing made her 5 times world champion.Mary Kom might not be the best movie as it contains many flaws but still it stands strong just because of Priyanka Chopra's superb performance.She has held entire movie on her shoulder, she has given more than 100% for this bio-pic.

Performances wise its only and only Priyanka Chopra. She is totally into the character and this is by far her career best performance.Supporting cast like Darshan Kumar, Sunil Thapa,etc are nice. Omang Kumar's direction is decent but it could have been better looking to the hold of the script. Music goes with the flow, cinematography is top-notch.

Overall its a feel pride movie. Can surely recommend one-time watch.

I am a hard core movie fan and I was impressed after watching the trailer of 'MARY KOM' and decided that I have to watch this movie. I have always been a big fan of sports movies be it Chak De India, Iqbal or Lagaan. The movie is a 'Biopic' of Indian Boxer 'Mary Kom' who hails from Manipur. How she becomes Boxer, relationship with her father, struggles in career, discovering her husband and other hurdles faced on road to being a champion.

What works in the movie?

Acting: A brilliant portrayal by Priyanka chopra s Mary Kom, she has worked really hard for the film and you can clearly see that effort visible on the screen both physically (Training) and mentally (Acting).

Cinematography: I must really applaud the way the cinematographer has pictured the boxing ring, locations, moods, emotions, lighting. Really good job.

Music & BGM: The nom is, sports movies shouldn't have songs but major movie going population in India is accustomed to songs and the Director has managed to place the songs subtly in the movie intelligently.

What doesn't work?

Editing: Editing is very important aspect of the movie, it majorly determines the big factor 'length' The movie is about 2 hour 5 minutes and for a Biopic I thought this wasn't enough, it needed to be a bit long.

Fight sequences: I was disappointed with the fight sequences in the movie. The boxing match that takes place in the ring should have been better choreographed, c'mon? You are showing a world champion boxer you got to get it as close to reality as possible. No comparisons but see the movie 'Million Dollar baby'.

Direction and Screenplay: I think the director should have worked better on the screenplay which keeps the audiences hooked to the screen; there were moments where I was not interested on what's going in the screen. It's a challenging job for the director to capture a biopic as you cannot make major alterations to the story and you have to keep it as close to the reality.

After watching this movie my respect towards Priyanka as an Actor has increased to the next level and I knew Mary Kom is a boxer in India but after this movie she holds highest respect as a sports person in my world. I give this movie a 7/10 and I would recommend a onetime watch.

Oh and more point: You should stand up at the end of the movie if you are an 'Indian'

Couple of brilliant knocks with plenty of bad misses. Could have been an excellent epic movie but overall turned out to be an average one. Tried to show a lot of things in a chaotic manner which lacked finesse. Pee Cee was sometimes good, specially the training period. The director seemed totally confused and lacked focus. There were plenty things which were over done like too much of useless aggression which could have been shown in a better way, people spoke in manipuri Hindi accent and again the same suddenly had a flawless Hindi outburst and the worst was Pee Cee in sweet 16 school uniform ... sorry utterly unaccepted. Its a good one time watch though, has all the content of a typical family weekend movie with love, inspiration, Patriotism and sportsmanship which again could have been like the outstanding "Rocky Balboa" types .... but sadly not, as I said a big disappointment !!!