#GhoomerReview: Barring pulsating climax, film fails to reach full potential
What's the story
R Balki's Ghoomer is a classic case of a novel, hitherto-unexplored idea dying a slow death onscreen due to sluggish screenplay, repetitive scenes, and a mechanical, stilted tone that defines the entire film.
Characters lack depth and the drama seems to exist not to elicit emotions but only for the sake of it, so much so, that even its pulsating climax cannot resuscitate it.
#1
'Ghoomer' is the story of an indefatigable batter-turned-spinner
Inspired by the life of two-time Olympic gold medalist Károly Takács, the drama follows the life of Anina (Saiyami Kher), a terrific batter preparing for her debut in Team India.
However, her life is turned on its head when she loses her dominant right hand in an accident, and an alcoholic ex-cricketer Paddy (Abhishek Bachchan) successfully coaches her to become a left-handed spinner instead.
#2
The emotions feel ingenuine and manufactured
The emotions are needlessly manufactured, and resultantly, it's difficult to connect with or even understand Paddy because his coach-who-rules-with-an-iron-fist personality has "formulaic" written all over it.
Throughout its over two-hour-long runtime, I couldn't fathom most of his intentions, and that he's an alcoholic (even at work) further dilutes his impact.
His entry into Anina's life, and then his training, everything is rooted in obscurity.
#3
Similar scenes playing over and over do nothing helpful
Ghoomer is also caught in a rut because it feels like a montage of the same scenes playing over and over, to the extent that you don't run the risk of leaving out much if you miss a few sequences.
The characters sorely lack depth, don't come across as believable in some instances, and the (unwanted and dull) pedestrian humor never lands.
#4
The formulaic storytelling lets the script down
Right from the beginning, Ghoomer hits several pitfalls and its speed is slowed down by the breakers it meets along the way; by the time the interval arrived, I was desperately praying for it to pick up the pace and get better!
It's so formulaic that you can guess the next scene, and if you do, chances are that you might be right.
#5
'Ghoomer' uses body shaming as comic device
Elaborating upon the film's dry and drab humor, Anina has two brothers whose entire existence in the film is nothing but to be played for laughs.
They are fat, so as is the case in Hindi films, that becomes their entire identity, and their fondness for food is met with some nasty jibes from the family.
In 2023, we should be past body shaming.
#6
Positives: Balki subverts gender tropes early on
Coming to the positives, I like how the central protagonist is a woman playing India's national obsession—it is a sight we don't often see on screen or even around us.
Balki subverts gender tropes in the first few scenes, and I wish a father cooking for her cricketer daughter instead of forcing her to stick to "feminine" duties becomes a more common reality.
#7
Kher and Bachchan deliver standout performances
The film stands tall on the shoulders of Bachchan and Kher, both of whom hand in surefooted performances.
Kher is especially worth applauding since this is a tailor-made role for her—she is a former cricketer in reality and thus shines in all her scenes on the 22 yards.
Bachchan reminded me of Sr. Bachchan in some of his scenes—a tall order to match!
#8
Amitabh Bachchan's mandatory cameo in Balki's film charms, again
It's incredibly fascinating how the mere existence of Sr. Bachchan provides the film with an intense amount of facelift.
He also receives some refined dialogues—as befits his stature—as a commentator during Anina's debut match for Team India.
It's this match sequence that plays out perfectly—it's a combination of terrific dialogue delivery, and excellent performances, and induces a genuine outburst of fervent emotions.
Verdict
Verdict: 2.5 stars—Watch it on OTT, not in theaters
Ghoomer had all the markings to become much better than what it is currently—its rousing finale can move you to tears (Amitabh Bachchan's appearance does the trick).
However, if we have to keep awaiting the climax to finally feel something, then that says everything about the quality of the film.
An experimental idea and a sincere approach, but Ghoomer never rises above mediocrity.