Victory movie rating and review

Victory (2009) movie wallpapers :

 

 

 

Victory (2009) Movie Rating and Review :

Rating :

Acting – 5/10
Direction – 4/10
Screenplay – 4/10
Music – 3/10
Technique – 5/10

Review :

Hurman as Yuvi

Victory has a few moments and lots of cricket stars

Hurman S. Baweja, what’s your rashee? Whatever it is, it seems to be helping you a lot more in 2009 than it did in 2050. Put it down to the spelling change, the extra “S” or simply the much-publicised split with Priyanka Chopra, but the serious and staid Hurman in Victory is a welcome change from the dance-at-the-drop-of-a-hat Hrithik clone surrounded by robot and red head in Love Story 2050.

That’s not to say that the rest of Victory is as watchable as Hurman. Victory does have its moments, but at the end of the film they remain that — simply moments, very few of which stay with you. At the end of 150 minutes of the rise, fall and rise of a cricketer and endless “nail-biting” matches, Victory is a good effort that just falls short of being a good film.

With benchmarks like Lagaan and Iqbal, Victory tries hard to be different and eventually ends up as yet another assembly line cricket film. It would take more than director Ajitpal Mangat to do more than that.

Much like Iqbal, Victory is about an aspiring cricketer Vijay Shekhawat (Baweja) from the small town of Jaisalmer. The victim of selection politics, the talented Vijay fails to make it to the Ranji team for seven long years, but a chance meeting with the Team India coach (Dalip Tahil) at a conditioning camp catapults him to the Indian squad in just two days! Talk about things being simple. True to his name — and the film’s title — Vijay notches up a victory after making the Brett Lees and Stuart Clarks look like galli cricketers, but when a few multicrore advertising deals fall into his lap, the lure of lucre wins over his commitment to the game. The second half is taken up in showing Vijay bouncing back from disgrace till the film inches towards a predictable denouement.

Victory gleans enough moments, situations and characters from the real world of cricket, even going as far as the “desh ka gaddaar” angle and a hug from a crazy female fan (are you reading this Dhoni?) But at the end of the day, Vijay Shekhawat is wholly modelled on Yuvraj Singh. Whether it is the six sixes in an over and the blistering knocks on the upside, or the drunken brawls, the nightlong partying or the thousands of endorsements on the downside, Victory is about Yuvi all the way. But no, there isn’t a Kim Sharma. Or a Deepika Padukone. Which is actually a good thing.

The spot-the-real life-cricket-moments become a yawn after a while and the plodding screenplay doesn’t help. The second half drags and the songs — very average fare from Anu Malik — have you shifting impatiently in your seat. While Hurman arrests attention and holds it for a while, the rest of the cast — Amrita Rao as the sweet and supportive girlfriend, Anupam Kher as the doting father and Gulshan Grover as the moneyminded image manager — turn in predictable performances. The 45 cricketers in the film do much better. Special mention must be made of Harbhajan Singh (he even screams out b***c*** on one occasion) and Brett Lee, who face the camera like pros. Jayasuriya labours through his minute on screen, but does make you smile.

But which cricketer is in dire need of acting lessons? When batsman Vijay Shekhawat lies bleeding on the pitch, writhing in agony in the final overs of the game, nonstriker RP Singh walks up to him leisurely and asks: “Doctor bula doon?” With a smile.

Did you like/not like Victory? Tell us.

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