Vijeta

Story: After a poor performance of the Maharashtra team at the National Games, the state's sports academy appoints a mind coach for the team to inspire and help them do well in the next games.


Review: After watching the trailer of Vijeta, one is sure to be reminded of the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De! India. The sports-based film, which also involves the return of a former sportsperson in capacity of a coach, has shades of the SRK film, but is different in its approach.

The story of the film revolves around Maharashtra's athletics team and their representation at the National Games. To prepare them for the same, the dean of the state's sports academy (Manasi Kulkarni) appoints Soumitra Deshmukh (Subodh Bhave) as their mind coach. Soumitra has been away from the sports scene and the reason is hidden in his past (which unfolds in the second half of the movie). But does Soumitra's arrival bring about a change in the team? What extent does he got to for ensuring the team's success? Does his past come in between his present endeavour? All answers are given in the film.

Writer-director Amol Shetge brings together an ensemble cast (Subodh, Pooja Sawant, Sushant Shelar, Pritam Kagne, Madhav Deochake et al) in this film. Though there are obvious similarities to Chak De! India, the writer-director banks on the background stories of the athletes in this film, making it, though monotonous, an interesting watch.
On the performance front, Subodh is perfect as always. He adapts the character's approach and body language to the T and is subtle in his portrayal. Sushant Shelar, in a role with grey shades, is convincing too. Pooja Sawant owns the scenes she is in. The rest of the cast does a sincere job too.
Two other interesting aspects of the movie are the music (by Rohan-Rohan) and cinematography (by Uday Sinh Mohite), These, combined with the other good things about the movie make Vijeta a good watch.


—Kalpeshraj Kubal