Breakaway

Stumbled upon the movie a bit late but I am glad I did - I just loved the movie. For a low budget movie, it was slickly done. Yes, it is similar to Patiala House and Bend It Like Beckham but being shot it Toronto made it interesting. BTW, I liked it better than the other two. Acting was decent and there were quite a few funny moments. It didn't seem that Vinay Virmani was a debutante. Camilla Belle did a good job and looked extremely pretty in Indian clothes. Russell Peters was a bit disappointing to me but that is probably because his was a slightly negative role. Comedians are not supposed to be mean. Cameos of Drake and Akshay Kumar were great. I loved the song Sheran Di Fauj Punjabi. For expatriates this was a great light movie - not worthy of an Oscar but very relaxing.

Right from the day when the first look of the film was revealed, SPEEDY SINGHS failed to create any kind of excitement even in the northern Punjabi belt of the country due to its repeated, uninteresting and forced kind of content. There was nothing new in the storyline, no novel idea to offer in the name of sports and no freshness in its looks, concept or presentation.

So, without going into its story details, which is easily predictable, I would like to share that whenever a movie like SPEEDY SINGHS comes, it simply forces me to think that there has to be some other fishy reason to make and spend time on such worthless projects. Because otherwise, there is no way, someone can think of making it with any kind of cinematic vision at all. In short, it's a silly mixture of all seen before sequences which do not give you even a single moment to enjoy in the whole film.

Now, why Akshay Kumar associated himself with this and even produced it with his full spirits again sends me into the suspicious zone. Frankly I think Akshay is now overdoing and dangerously playing with his popular SINGH IS KINNG image in a very funny way. At times it becomes quite hilarious to see the desperation in his SIKH portrayal on the screen with that entire fake make up. And with SPEEDY SINGHS he is again going to experience failure, like his last unsuccessful venture PATAILA HOUSE based on an identical sports theme of Cricket. Hence its time he switches on to a different fresh mode at the earliest.

The film raises many valid interesting questions regarding its overused plot and execution. Obviously the makers were not focused on the Indian Market since they have chosen Ice Hockey in the script which is not a sport played in our part of the world. So, Indian market was just going to be a bonus for them in case the film was a HIT.

But, I seriously couldn't understand why Akshay and Anupam Kher said yes to the script, when they both had already done a similar movie in the past dealing with two different sports. Surprisingly Anupam Kher plays an exactly identical role to what he played in Gurinder Chaddha's BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM which revolved around Football. And Akshay himself played the lead in recent PATIALA HOUSE which talked about a Punjabi underdog player willing to play Cricket for England against the will of his father. Incidentally in that film too there was a sequence explaining Akshay's "Hair Cutting Act" as shown in SPEEDY SINGHS, which has been deliberately added only to satisfy the religious sentiments of a particular section of viewers.

Actually the film is called BREAKWAY in its original English title and is directed by Robert Lieberman, who amazingly uses all 'ages old' Indian ingredients for his foreign film. There is family drama, a love angle, a group of friends as a team, a deliberately added Punjabi comic character, and almost everything which we repeatedly see in all the Regional Punjabi films made nowadays. But the weakest part of SPEEDY SINGHS is that despite of being a Sports Film, it never offers a great crescendo kind of euphoria towards its end, featuring the obvious win of the SINGHS team. And the viewer keeps wondering, Is this really a film written around an exciting sport?

However, in case you loved its groovy track "Shera Di Kaum Punjabi", heavily promoted by Akshay himself, then I would like to comment that SPEEDY SINGHS has simply got nothing even close to a Sher (LION), Speed or Sport. So better play an indoor game at home with your entire family instead of watching this un-necessary film in the theater.

This is a good movie, just for the hockey story. But we are treated to a close look at the Sikh culture, including a traditional wedding with the music, dancing and colorful costumes. There is the usual conflict found in movies such as this between tradition and modern life.

Most of the leading actors do a good job. There are several actors I won't name who seem to be reading their lines about half the time, but both of them are good enough in other scenes and it's merely a distraction when they aren't.

There's plenty of humor here, particularly from people whose family came from India.

I really like Rajveer and Melissa together. They have the expected ups and downs but work really well as a couple.

Rob Lowe does a good job as the coach. At first he doesn't seem to stand out much, but as time goes on he really shows that he is one of the leading actors in the business.

Anupham Kher does an outstanding job as a father who goes from disappointed to proud to ... well, I won't say what happens. Just know he does an amazing job.

Mr. Patel is another standout character.

One of the best scenes involves an old man telling a young boy about the Sikh culture. This scene proves crucial to the success of the hockey team.

It's a worthy effort.

Back in his salad Brat Pack days Rob Lowe played in Youngblood where he played a young hockey star with the name of the title on that film. Almost 30 years later and looking good for his age Lowe is the coach of an amateur hockey team.

It's composed of young Sikh immigrants seeking acceptance in Canada and they play their national sport quite well. One of them is Vinay Virmani who has really rebelled against the Sikh tradition by getting rid of the turban and shaving off the beard.

This is a theme going back to Golden Boy in film, the son who wants to please his parents but also sees the need to adjust to the new surroundings that immigrant kids face.

A lot of Indian/Sikh players got some work in this Canadian production. It's a nice film and I highly recommend it especially to young people to learn about a different culture.

This team composed of Sikhs are classic film heroes in the best tradition.

Are you kidding me? What a blast this movie was to watch. A beautiful cast to gaze upon, even the medically enhanced Lowe. A remarkable musical journey through upbeat and disconnected tunes that don't fit together or have anything to do with the plot points they bracket. Super fun cameos that come out of nowhere really deliver the surprise element. A Bollywood initiation for those not familiar with the genre, as two lavish, colorful sequences materialize out of the ether and a handful of middle school night wet fantasies let us into the mind of Sikh youth. Also a crash course in the Sikh culture although not the religion itself, which in all honesty could go a long way in educating those not otherwise familiar with the Sikh. Pointedly addresses intolerance, and not just at the Sikh, but also women, as the true unsung heroine is the 20- Something law student who sets a land speed record in defeating social injustice while studying and dating full time. Watching the subtle transformation of Belle into Sikh light is the entire point of the movie as a metaphor for the ongoing march of multiculturalism. Sure the ending was saccharine, but if you're in a candy shop for 90 minutes do you really think you can leave without a sweet taste in your mouth? I didn't think so.