CT REVIEW Run for gold
Overlook the flaws and soak in the emotionally-charged drama led by Akshay Kumar, says Anita Iyer
Nothing binds Indians like sports. And if it is a match against Pakistan or England, the patriotism is at an all-time high. Reema Kagti’s Gold is a fictional account, inspired by true events of India’s first gold medal won as an independent nation at the 1948 Olympics in London. At the fore, we have Tapan Das (Akshay Kumar) as the team manager of the Indian hockey team, struggling to put together a team for the Olympics. The movie opens with the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and we have a team led by Samrat (Kunal Kapoor) winning a match against the Nazis. After a lull of 12 years, when Tapan has become irrelevant as no international hockey matches are played, comes the London Olympics in 1948.
Tapan, the Bengali-speaking manager is at the centre of the action, as he grabs the opportunity and sets out to scout talent for the national team.
Things go for a toss when India is divided (post independence), and so does the team across the borders. The riot that ensues gives us some worthy moments in the film – like the former Indian captain who has to leave for Pakistan to save his life, the Indian Muslims who choose to live in India after the partition.
Tapan Das shares the spotlight with the hockey team players, led by Imtiaz Ali Shah (Vineet Kumar Singh), Himmat Singh (Sunny Kaushal), Raghubir Pratap Singh (Amit Sadh) from a royal family, Samrat and they become the team we can trust.
Sadh as the royal portrays class and arrogance in his role, Sunny is convincing as the turban-wearing passionate player. It is good to see Kunal as Samrat as he trains the team for the Olympics. Although we see Akshay prominently as he is facilitating the progression of the film, the other actors too get their fair share to shine.
Although not totally relevant to the film, short back stories of the players could have made their characters more interesting. But ultimately the story is not about them – it’s about India’s participation in the Olympics and despite the odds, emerging as a winner.
The film might remind you of Chak De! in parts with situations like power play in the team, the politics and interference of the hockey federation, team players grouping themselves according to their states and finally all the players coming together as a team to make the country proud.
There might be minor flaws, but Gold is made of small moments that will warm your heart. In the first few minutes of the film, we see the team ‘British India’ defeat the Nazis and as the Union Jack soars high, Tapan waves the Indian tri-colour and the players join in saluting the flag. Towards the end, during the semi-finals, we see Indians cheering for the Pakistani team as they play the Netherlands, and the Pakistanis cheering the Indian team in their final against Britain. Oh, did we mention – the English folks also root for India! It gives a glimpse of an idealistic world we can only aspire for.
The final 30 minutes are important for any sports film and Gold plays by the rule. It delivers nail-biting sequences towards the end with powerful drums adding to the high-octane climax.
We know the storyline, we know the climax but yet when the team crosses the semi-final stage you can’t help but become a cheerleader. And as the drama unfolded and the Indian national anthem played, a few people in the audience stood up to pay their respects. And that is where the film emerges victorious!