Jersey is a movie packed up with emotions where you can see the natural star in his forever best mode.
Starring: Nani, Shraddha Srinath, Ronit Kamra, Harish Kalyan, Sathyaraj, etc.
Directed By: Gowtam Tinnanuri
Release Date: 19th April 2019
Introduction
Jersey is a movie revolving around the life of an ex Ranji cricketer Arjun who is trying for a comeback via his passion again despite his age and his almost toppled life. Jersey stands out as not being just another sports movie but being a movie that depicts a very strong plot along with strong emotional content.
According to the Times Of India:
“Jersey will make you laugh, cry, and cheer out loud.”
~ Times Of India
The movie truly deserves a rating of 09/10 for its clean execution and especially for the brilliant performance delivered by Nani.
Plotline
The movie goes off with Nani (Harish Kalyan) walking into a bookstore in New York City to buy a book titled ‘Jersey’. Later after buying the only left copy of Jersey in the store, he gives it away to a girl who came shortly after his arrival to the bookstore to buy the same book. Nani reveals that Jersey is the story about his father Arjun. From here on, the story of a 36-year-old Ex Ranji cricketer Arjun is unveiled.
Back in 1986, Arjun is an extremely talented Ranji cricket player who is cool with his styles and at the same time a bit arrogant. He quits from the sport being taken aback by the politics behind the selection to the Indian team and because of getting rejected by the selectors multiple times.
Arjun is seen as a jobless man, 10 years later in 1996. with his wife Sarah and his seven-year-old son Nani. After quitting from the Ranji, Arjun bags a job from the sports quota but gets suspended due to a false allegation on him for bribery. Sarah keeps on telling Arjun to talk to his lawyer and get back his job.
Nani on the other hand keeps on demanding an Indian Cricket Jersey for his birthday to Arjun. Due to a poor financial situation, Arjun is not able to make both Sarah and his son Nani happy by fulfilling their needs.
By the interval of the movie. After his desperate but failed attempts to make the ends of his life meet, Nani decides to step into the world of cricket again after 10 years under the supervision of his coach Murthy. The rest of the movie is about the battle Nani leads against his harsh life realities making his way towards the Ranji selection and how he tries for a good comeback.
Performances
One of the biggest highlights of this movie is the brilliant level of acting delivered by Nani as Arjun. On-Screen, Nani’s character goes through three different periods and I doubt that no one else could have done this in such a convincing way. Ronit Kamra as Arjun’s son Nani has given a beautiful performance. The moments between Arjun and his little son Nani is one of the major highlights of the movie. Them together onscreen are cute, sweet and at times leave you with tears in your eyes.
Shraddha Srinath made her debut memorable with Jersey by perfectly carrying over the role given to her as Arjun’s wife Sarah. Despite getting overshadowed by the main character, she is given a good screen space to depict herself as one of the major support for Arjun throughout the white, black, and greys of his life. Apart from them, Sathyaraj as Coach Moorthi, Harish Kalyan as the grown-up Nani, and Sanusha as a journalist/Author have all delivered their roles with utmost perfection.
Technical Aspects
Gowtham Tinnanuri has succeeded to showcase a script with multiple levels of the story without messing it up together onscreen. Jersey could be very much be called a director’s movie. Along with this, I should again mention the mind-blowing performance delivered by Nani throughout the movie, literally being the backbone of the movie boosted up in his character to the full extent. You will never see an actor onscreen but just Arjun who is a young cricketer, a jobless man, and a man who goes against all the odds to get his life back on tracks.
The music of Jersey has given an edge to the movie again for becoming a huge success. Anirudh Ravichander’s composition has gifted Jersey with the best of the songs and a title track that will keep playing in a loop in your mind even after you end watching the movie.
Overall Review
A perfect watch – That is how I would like to state Jersey. If you love sports movies and/or if you love cricket, go for Jersey. If you love to watch a movie that makes you feel content to the maximum level, go for Jersey. If you love Nani, what are you still waiting for? Go for Jersey!
