Saina Movie download

Saina Movie download free

 We don’t make great sports movies. The simple reason being that we tend to idolise our sport heroes, meagre as they are. Hence, films, or even documentaries made on them, don’t delve into their dark areas. The hero worship gets in the way of good filmmaking. Director Amole Gupte initially shows signs of not getting too over awed by Saina Nehwal, not shying away from showing some chinks in her armour. But he doesn't follow through with his examination all the way.  The film opens with a press conference. Saina (Parineeti Chopra), has just won a big competition, overcoming a slump and injury breaks. Enthusiastic sports journalists start asking her questions and she starts looking back on her life, leaving us with a montage of memories...

Champions get shaped through the combined blood, sweat and tears of their parents and coaches. We might not know much about Saina Nehwal's parents but we do know about the coach which propelled her towards stardom -- former All-England Open champion Pullela Gopichand, who is renamed Sarvadhamaan Rajan (Manav Kaul). It's a known fact that she split with Gopichand at the height of her career. That she was supposedly insecure about PV Sindhu, the other protege he was mentoring. She did reach the top of the game without him and they eventually patched up as well. All these things have been well-documented and hence fictionalising Gopichand's name or doing away with Saina's rivalries with other Indian badminton players doesn't make sense. Manav Kaul plays the mentor with great panache. He's made to speak inspirational platitudes but says them with such great conviction that you can't help but believe in them. He makes her take some tough decisions, like asking her to choose between love and career, endorsements and badminton. Now, we don't know whether Gopichand was actually so involved in her life but actual facts aside, these dramatic moments do elevate the film. The best scenes in films in fact are those between Parineeti and Manav. She ably displays the vulnerability of a disciple while he’s the epitome of a strict mentor. 

In  the film, her other great relationship is shown to be with her mom Usha Rani (Meghna Malik). She’s the guiding force behind her daughter. Amole paints her as an over-strict, Bollywoodish mother. She's even shown to slap her daughter in frustration when she feels she hasn't done enough. Now, again, we don’t know much about her mother but one assumes such scenes are pure fiction. They have been put in place so we can dwell on the fact that Saina sacrificed a normal childhood in pursuit of excellence. But all this comes across as something from a textbook on an athlete’s life and doesn’t have the gravitas of actual memories. Meghna Malik is pure Tiger Mom alright and the only one in the cast who assuredly brings a Haryanvi flavour to the proceedings. One must add here that the child actor playing the young Saina, Naishaa Kaur Bhatoye, does a terrific job as the wide-eyed girl entering the gruelling world of professional sports. Not only does she look uncannily like Saina, she’s also said to be a badminton prodigy and has won many medals despite her tender age. No wonder her scenes featuring her playing the fast-moving sport feel just right. 

Parineeti is known to give her heart and soul to every project and she does it here as well. While she might not have the professional dexterity of a natural athlete, the camerawork and editing combine to hide her flaws. Where she excels is in showing us Saina Nehwal, the person, rather than the athlete. Through subtle gestures and changes in body language, she makes us root for the young lass grappling under the pressure of her own expectations, as well as of those around her. The role was unlike anything she has ever done before and kudos to her for trying out something different. 

In a nutshell, director Amole Gupte, who has made us aware of parent-child bond, as well as coach-student relationships through previous films as Taare Zameen Par and Hawaa Hawaai, has tried to bring what he’s best at into the sports biopic zone. The end result will make you want for more...