Film:
Mary
Kom
Cast:
Priyanka
Chopra,
Darshan
Kumar,
Zachary
Coffin,
Robin
Das,
Shakti
Singh
Director:
Omung
Kumar
It's
that
life-defining
moment
when
a
character
on
screen
transforms
totally
into
a
real
life
personality.
We've
seen
Seema
Biswas,
Ben
Kingsley
and
Farhan
Akhtar
metamorphose
into
real
life
characters
in
front
of
our
bewildered
eyes.
Now
it
is
Priyanka
Chopra.
She
virtually
transforms
her
physicality
before
entering
the
spirit
and
the
soul
of
boxing
champ
Mary
Kom
(MC).
And
what
a
grand
entry!
Ladies
and
gentlemen,
we
give
you
Priyanka
as
the
gritty
volatile
boxer
from
Manipur
who
won't
take
no
for
an
answer,
even
from
god.
Penetrating
a
male
domain
like
boxing
in
a
gender-defying
swoop,
Priyanka's
MC
takes
us
on
a
voyage
of
self-discovery
where
a
plucky
poor
girl
from
rural
Manipur
goes
right
to
the
Olympics.
It's
an
incredible
story
filled
with
sound
and
fury
signifying
something
deep
and
seductive,
just
waiting
to
be
told.
Hats
off
to
debutant
director
Omung
Kumar
for
bringing
us
one
of
the
most
inspiring
biopics
to
have
ever
reached
the
silver
screen.
"Mujhe
bronze
pasand
nahin
aata,"
barks
MC's
coach.
As
we
see
Mary's
dreams
come
true
in
front
of
our
eyes,
we
know
she
was
born
to
win.
The
narrative
has
a
soaring
quality
and
texture.
It
simply
takes
off
with
scarcely
any
room
for
breathing
space.
The
breathless
quality
of
storytelling
goes
well
with
the
protagonist's
stormy
mercurial
nature.
As
MC' story
unravels
in
a
flashback
we
meet
a
woman
who
is
not
affected
by
gender
rules
and
discrimination
that
governs
our
society.
Very
early
in
the
tightly
clenched
narrative,
we
see
MC
get
into
a
full-fledged
scuffle
with
a
school
bully.
Later
she
takes
on
another
far
more
dangerous
bully
who
threatens
to
destroy
her
boxing
career.
In
and
out
of
the
arena
Mary
never
stops
fighting.
"The
rest
of
the
world
may
be
round.
But
your
world
is
this
square
ring," her
coach
reminds
her
pointing
to
the
boxing
arena.
The
struggle,
as
depicted
in
the
stunning
unspoilt
northeastern
terrain
of
Manipur,
captured
with
mesmeric
intensity
by
cinematographer
Keiko
Nakahara,
is
manifold.
Here
it
is
a
curse
to
be
born
a
girl.
And
to
be
born
a
girl
who
wants
to
be
a
boxing
champ!
You
have
to
be
kidding.
Admirably
the
narrative
doesn't
over-sentimentalise
MC's
struggle.
This
is
"Mother
India"
without
the
glycerine
and
melodrama.
As
played
by
Priyanka,
MC
is
both
gritty
and
giggly,
plucky
and
precocious,
a
ferocious
fighter
and
a
tender
mother.
Priyanka
expresses
every
shade
of
her
character
with
a
pitch-perfect
bravado.
Her
northeastern
accent
could
easily
have
become
caricatural.
The
actress
controls
curbs
and
quantifies
every
component
of
her
character's
personality
without
losing
that
basic
element
of
spontaneity
without
which
Mary
would
have
become
mechanical.
I
dare
any
other
actress
to
play
MC
the
way
Priyanka
has.
Even
Hilary
Swank
would
have
been
stumped
by
MC'S
mystical
mix
of
the
girlish
and
the
aggressive.
Priyanka
gets
the
point.
My
favourite
sequences
are
the
ones
where
MC
shares
tender
marital
moments
with
her
husband.
If
it's
vital
for
a
career
woman
to
get
a
supportive
husband,
it
is
equally
essential
for
a
film
starring
a
female
hero
to
have
a
co-actor
who
can
play
yin
to
her
yang.
Newcomer
Darshan
Kumar
suffuses
the
screen
with
such
supreme
spousal
sensitivity.
He
is
a
talent
to
watch.
Predictably
enough
a
lot
of
the
opposition
to
MC's
dreams
is
shown
to
come
from
within
her
home.
The
skirmishes
between
MC
and
her
father
(Robin
Das)
and
MC's
gender
battle
with
the
slimy
executive
of
the
boxing
federation
(played
with
diabolic
relish
by
Shakti
Singh)
are
exceptionally
filmy',
and
I
use
that
word
in
the
truest
cinematic
sense.
The
picturesque
narrative,
the
richly
flavoured
music
composed
by
Shashi
Suman
and
Shivum
(watch
out
for
the
poignant
lullaby
sung
by
Priyanka),
the
rapid
fire
editing,
the
framing
of
the
shimmering
shots
and
the
incredibly
aesthetic
use
of
rich
colours
bear
the
unmistakable
stamp
of
producer
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali,
who
is
billed
as
Creative
Director.
Mary
Kom
is
a
motivational
masterpiece.
From
first
frame
to
last
it
grips
your
senses
and
irrigates
the
parched
corridors
of
your
heart
like
very
few
biopics
in
recent
times.
Kumar
weaves
seamlessly
in
and
out
of
Mary's
remarkable
life
creating
a
work
that
is
as
dramatic
as
Mehboob
Khan's
Mother
India
and
as
inspiring
as
Richard
Attenborough's
Gandhi.
Priyanka's
powerhouse
performance
knocks
the
breath
out
of
our
solar
plexus.
She
yet
again
proves
herself
the
best
actress
of
her
generation.
Hereafter
there
will
be
an
eternal
confusion
about
whose
face
goes
on
the
hoardings
announcing
Mary
Kom's
boxing
events.
PC
or
MC?