Mary Kom
Director: Omung Kumar
Actors: Priyanka Chopra, Darshan Kumar
Rating: 4.5 star
By now ‘Bollywood-ise’ ought to be a word in the Indian dictionary. There are multiple possible definitions of that word. To me, it roughly means making a larger-than-life song and dance out of any subject in order to “entertain” the masses, as it were. My biggest fear before getting into this movie was if the filmmakers involved (Sanjay Leela Bhansali is the credited producer and creative director) would end up excessively ‘Bollywood-ising’ the real-life boxing champion Mary Kom. That fear was thankfully unfounded.
The locations look reasonably real. The performances are toned down. There are songs in this film. But nobody lip-syncs. Some of the background score is inspired from local music of the North East, which is where the film is set, making it a rare mainstream Hindi picture that looks at the region of India that practically dropped off the map, God knows how long ago. Besides this film, I can’t remember any other time when the lead character in Bollywood has belonged to the North East, unless Aamir Khan as Phunsuk Wangdu in 3 Idiots counts.
To be fair, pucca Punjabi Priyanka Chopra, despite obvious efforts made by the make-up department, looks nothing like the North Eastern Mary Kom. But then neither did the British Ben Kingsley look like Gandhi. Physical features won’t niggle you at all. I guess the idea isn’t to look like a person, but to look the part instead—audiences get swayed by emotions rather than an impersonation.
In that sense, Priyanka does a fit and fine job of embodying Mary. It’s a role written for the Bollywood awards’ season—very few of those trophies count, although she will bag some for sure. Whether she eventually picks up the National Award will of course depend on the others in the ring.
Tomboy Mary is a fighter who rises to the top of her game, despite all odds stacked up against her. She lives in the troubled Manipur, where a separatist movement against the Indian state has been going on for 50 years. In fact the most famous person from Mary’s state, besides herself, is probably Irom Sharmila, who’s been on a fast-unto-death for 14 years against special powers granted to the Indian Army in Manipur. This film, despite the opportunity, deliberately chooses not to touch upon anything political. Riots happening on Manipur’s streets are merely implied in a scene or two, rather than actively discussed.
Mary’s parents are poor. Her father doesn’t want her to touch the glove. He feels boxing might destroy her face and upset her chances in the marriage mart. A champion coach turns her life around. She claims the World title in her category. At the peak of her career, she gets married, has kids. She appears happy. But there is a void in her life. She fights back thereafter to reclaim her past glory.
This is not a journalistic biopic of MC Mary Kom. The details here don’t match some of the stories I’ve read on her. The filmmakers have taken creative liberties, although seemingly in the interest of the story rather than to sensationalise it. The only melodramatic moment occurs when Mary confronts a cheapo, stereotyped Sharmaji from the sports federation. But that too I guess seems essential, because it shines a light on corrupt administrators (mostly politicians) that plague Indian sports.
The film is just a little over two hours long, which is about an hour shorter than the last major Bollywood biopic we watched—Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. If you ask me, even as a subject, five-time world champion Mary Kom comes across as a much better one than Milkha Singh who came fourth in the Olympics.
Sometimes we watch films to feel inspired, since there is such little in our lives that make us feel the same way. There is enough exhilarating drama in Mary’s life. I’m glad the filmmakers kind of play it straight. The story of Magnificient Mary is still being told. She is currently aiming for gold in the next Olympics. Her story so far should certainly be watched!