Jungle Cry Movie Review: Abhay Deol's Sports Drama Is a Heartwarming, Inspiring Story About Triumph

Available On: Lionsgate Play
Language: Hindi/English
Duration: 102 Minutes

Story: Jungle Cry, based on a true story, follows twelve underprivileged children from Orissa and their stories as they go on to play Rugby for the first time and win the prestigious U-14 Rugby World Cup in England.

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Review: Abhay Deol's Jungle Cry is a narrative-documentary style feel-good movie. However, the screenplay does not shy away from exploring the story behind every member of the film, from coach Rudra to his underdog team. The film is sure to bring out the love for the country as The Jungle Cats soar through the tournament to win the Under-14 rugby world cup in whales.

The film begins with the moment it all changes for not only The Jungle Cats, but also for Rudra (played by Abhay Deol), when a Rugby coach Paul from the UK shows up at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences looking for players. Even before introducing Rugby, the first scene shows that sportsmanship and fire are there in the players naturally. The kids running through the roads stumble and fall fighting ruthlessly for a ball of marbles impressing the Gora coach (Paul).

Rudra who has tirelessly worked hard with his team to make them the best at football, isn't happy about the change, and the kids who have given their best for Rudra aren't happy about him leaving. We do get a few fun moments of the kids being kids before the journey for their big win begins. For the early games, Atul Kumar as the institute's founder Achyuta plays the narrator, explaining every bit of the chaos and victory so the audience knows all for the best.

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Sagar Ballary's direction takes special care to make sure the audience understands what they are watching, from explaining the game to the background the kids came from. Without taking away focus from The Jungle Cats, the film also sheds light on many issues including social issues, lack of basic amenities, healthcare, food, lack of social structure and more.

The film rushes through the second half but The Jungle Cats' thrilling matches and good commentary make up for it. The makers have kept things very raw for the kids from dialogues to the screen structure, keeping it as authentic as possible.

Abhay Deol from the get-go is a caring and responsible coach, who wants to do right by his students. What makes his character even more loveable is that he is quick to accept his mistakes and rise above them for the sake of the team. He brings back the charm from his early films and leaves space for everyone to shine. Emily Shah as physiotherapist Roshni Thakkar has great chemistry with the kids and with Abhay.

Overall, Jungle Cry has every bit of charm and thrill a sports drama asks for, with a truly inspiring story of triumph.