The Expression Hub

Starring: Kangana Ranaut, Jassi Gill, Richa Chadda, Neena Gupta, Yagya Bhasin,Megha Burman and Rajesh Tailang

Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Genre: Sports Drama

“Everything negative- pressure, challenges is all an opportunity for me to rise.”

Kobe Bryant

March is considered as International Women’s History Month. A time which celebrates and recognizes the amazing contributions of women throughout the country. So, this month expect a lot of women oriented blog posts, as I a fellow woman raises the toast to some of the most amazing women in real and reel life. This month lets celebrate the women in our lives and make them feel special.

So, this week’s pick celebrates a woman in reel life who in her younger days used to be one of the topmost players in the sport of Kabaddi. But then family happened and so did her future dreams went up in the smoke?But will she be able to revive her dreams? Read on further-

Story line : Panga narrates the story of Jaya Nigam who was a former Kabaddi champion but now works as a middle class railway reservation counter clerk. She lives with her husband and a 7 year old son Adi. Despite having a supportive family, Jaya regrets to quit the sport as motherhood embraced her. After learning the same from his father, Adi pushes her to return to the sport. Will Jaya give in to her son’s demands?Will she be able to challenge the stereotypes of the society?Will she be able to challenge the limits and return to what was her first love?

Scrutiny: This movie is an emotional roller coaster story of a middle class Indian woman who in order to give dreams wings will have to face it all- stereotypes regarding to age, societal pressures of family responsibility and most importantly changes in her body post motherhood. Will she be able to outstretch herself and if so how is she going to?

Coming to the scrutiny part, an interesting story line with thunderous acting chops by Kangana Ranaut and Jassi Gill. After watching this one, singles like me will have their expectations high as regards to their future partners :p The struggle a mother goes through is portrayed beautifully and realistically. There are some unrealistic scenes like for example how do you convince your parents especially your mother so easily for marriage? This is such a hilarious scene that I ended up laughing out aloud. It was such an unrealistic scene in such a realistic movie.

The Sentiment: This one should be definitely on your watch list. This one highlights the struggles of a mother who sacrifices it for the sake of her family. But it seems that it is the love of her family which brings her back to the game. Watch it for the thunderous performance by Kangana Ranaut and Jassi Gill. I personally feel Jassi Gill should have been awarded the National Award as he in my opinion was the main show stealer. His act of being a lovely and a supportive husband definitely raised the bar as regards to husband goals are concerned. Watch it for the struggles Jaya faces as she struggles to make a comeback. Watch it for the undying spirit of a woman. And lastly watch it to celebrate the women in your lives.

Rating: ****

Que: Which team does Jaya get selected for in an attempt to comeback?

a. Northern Railways

b. Southern Railways

c. Eastern Railways

d. Western Railways

Quote Unquote: “Saari badi badi baatein women empowerment ki… main ek maa hoon aur maa ke koi sapne nahi hote hai.” (Jaya to Prashant)[ All big talks on women empowerment. I am a mother and a mother never has any dreams.]