Jersey Review: Other than Shahid Kapoor, Jersey falls flat on the big screen

Mumbai (Maharashtra): The 2019 film Kabir Singh was a career saviour for Shahid Kapoor as he failed to deliver another hit after his 2016 blockbuster Udta Punjab. Although the film was a remake of the Telugu movie Arjun Reddy, it had garnered a lot of traction from fans all around. In similar footsteps, Shahid Kapoor has come up with another such remake named ‘Jersey’ which is the Hindi remake of the Telugu film with the same name. This Shahid Kapoor starrer starts on a previously used trope of a promising sports player leading to his fall. The rest of the movie revolves around his rise from the ashes as he gains the trust of his beloved and fulfils the dreams of his own along with his dear ones’. The film is directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri who directed the Telugu version as well. Thus, it is a known fact that the film is a frame-to-frame copy of its previous adaptation. It raises the question of what’s new that this film offers for one to spend their time going and watch it in the theatre?

Story:

The story starts with a 26-year-old Arjun Talwar portrayed by Shahid Kapoor playing at the Ranji Trophy tournament. Promising and full of talent, the young sportsman wishes to play for the Indian Cricket Team. His lady love, Vidya, is played by Mrunal Thakur. As Arjun and Vidya elope after their families forbid them from marrying each other, the story fast forwards to 10 years when a once enthusiastic and optimistic Arjun is shown as a dejected and depressed middle-aged man. He is shown to have left cricket for unknown reasons. The couple has a 10-year-old son Karan played by Ronit Kamra, who played the same role in the Telugu version. Vidya who works as a receptionist had also employed Arjun in a government office from where he was fired due to some false allegations. This creates a rift between the once-in-love couple.

Karan, an aspiring cricket player himself, asks his father for a jersey for his birthday. When Arjun is unable to buy his son the gift he asked for, he enters the cricket field again. The story then revolves around Arjun’s struggle to fit into the team of young players as a 36-year-old. Why did Arjun leave cricket in the first place? Will he succeed to buy his son the gift he asked for? Will he be able to fulfil his dream to join the Indian cricket team? To get these answers, you have to watch the film.

Acting:

Shahid Kapoor is undoubtedly a good actor and has poured his heart into the film. Mrunal Thakur as Vidya makes a mark on the viewers even though she does play a supporting character. Pankaj Kapoor, who is playing the role of a coach in the film, has a good character. The highlight of the film remains the emotional bond between father and son which is portrayed beautifully by Shahid Kapoor and Arjun Kamra. However, the rising from the ashes trope was already seen in Kabir Singh, hence, Shahid does not bring anything new to the screen except his portrayal as the doting father.

Direction:

Director Gowtam Tinnanuri has given the same energy he put in while making the Telugu film. This can be seen by the flow with which the story unfolds. However, Tinnanuri should have taken a better pace with the storyline as the first half of the film is slow-paced which makes it difficult to be interested in watching the movie. The director was successful in portraying the emotions between the father and son which was the plus point of the movie.

Other than that, the direction was a copy of his Telugu film and did not add anything new to the Hindi version.

Drawbacks:

As said before, the film unfolds slowly in the first half and picks up pace only after the interval. This may bore the audience right from the start making it difficult to connect to the film. The film is very predictable and the audience can easily guess what would happen next. The fact that it’s a clone remake makes the case worse. If you are not a Shahid Kapoor fan, there is no point in spending your money to go and watch it in the theatre. It would simply be a waste of time as the film does not give you anything new to be excited about.

Why you should watch it?:

Honestly, one can watch the movie if they are a huge Shahid Kapoor fan. Jersey is Shahid’s comeback to the big screen after a long hiatus of four years. But other than that, movie enthusiasts can wait till it releases on an OTT platform to watch the movie.

Although Jersey offers a set of great actors who have performed well along with a good direction, the film falls on the lines of average as it does not offer anything new to the audience. Such storylines have been already used so much in the film industry that one can predict how the plot climaxes after watching the trailer itself.

At a time when biggies like KGF: Chapter 2 are sweeping the box office off its feet, a film like Jersey is a dud.

Stars: 3/5

Watch the video review of the movie on First India Filmy: