Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Manav Kaul, Meghna Malik, Eshan Naqvi, Rohan Apte, Subrajyoti Virat, Ankur Vikal, Sharman Dey, Sameer Bassi

Director: Amol Gupte

BLUF

 Saina Nehwal put Indian women badminton players on the global map in an extremely cutthroat sport, and to date, she continues the first and only female player to have won the number of championships that she has. The biopic documents Parineeti serving, dropping, and smashing so convincingly that there are times you can almost see Saina and not Parineeti, and this more than covers up for the little glitches in the script of the rest of the movie.

THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES

A significant portion of the movie is dedicated to developing the story of Saina as a little girl and the story of her being transported into the psyche of being a sports person by her own mother Usha Rani ( Meghna Malik ) who herself was a badminton player. Do not miss the buttered aloo parathas and two liters of milk being packed into the little girl by her mom (Naisha Kaur Bhatoye) who not reaffirm for her daughter that as a girl she has the ability, speed and keeps fueling the desire in her to succeed.

However, it is Rajan, her coach who convinces her to get started onto a champion’s heavy-on-protein, light-on-carb diet, and teaches her to use her mind as a part of her approach to her game. That is transformational for Saina. And this is that story.

IN THE ZONE

The best badminton players need to have the discipline of ballet dancers and need to combine both grace and strength in their training. Both Kaul and Chopra ace that harmony perfectly. However, Manav Kaul, as a method actor, looks the part but, for some reason is never shown on the court as a coach.

In real life, the partnership breakup Saina’s coach Gopichand and she was monumental for her career and even caused her to move from Hyderabad to Bangalore, into the hands of another coach. Portrayed as a distraction due to endorsement deals, she is also seen receiving “attention” from a fellow player Parupalli Kashyap (Eshan Naqvi).

‘Saina’ still manages to be a proper sports movie, committed to exhibiting the unstinting, unrelenting, working up of blood, sweat, and tears that go into the making of a champion, and the sacrifices that those champions must make to stay at the top. As Saina settles into her role, Parineeti gives us a good, solid Saina: a role of a lifetime, every time she raises her racket, she becomes the champion that she is internalizing. Parineeti perfected that spirit.

FWAR

One of the important benefits of making a biography on a sportsperson who is still competing in the game is that the whole lot is documented. Precision will be extolled; things that appear exaggerated will be ousted. That is why, for instance, Pullela Gopichand, Nehwal’s coach, here played by Manav Kaul, not being recognized by his real name stands out. Why her rival in the critical 2015 tournament in Lucknow, which anointed her as the World No 1, not called Carolina Marin?

The movie is all Parineeti. As it should be. She should be lauded for her performance and the work she has put in to make Saina so believable.

WHAT WE LOVED

Everything. Parineeti Passionate Chopra.

WHAT WE MISSED

The bits and pieces.