Toolsidas Junior Movie Review: Rajiv Kapoor-Sanjay Dutt's Film Is A Heartwarming Watch Till The Final Frame

Story

Set in Calcutta, the film opens in the year 1994 where Toolsidas (late Rajiv Kapoor) gears up to defeat the five-time champion Jimmy Tandon (Dalip Tahil) at the Calcutta Sports Club Snooker Championship. Toolsidas assures his younger son Midi (Varun Buddhadev) that the trophy is coming home this time. Unfortunately, Jimmy takes advantage of one of Toolsidas' shortcomings due to which the latter ends up losing the game.

Heartbroken by his father's humiliating defeat in the finale, Midi decides to take the cue stick in his own hands to win the championship trophy for his father. With the help of his elder brother Goti, Midi sets out in search of a mentor. Not the one to give up, the young boy comes across now-reclusive former national champion Mohammed Salaam (Sanjay Dutt) at YMC Wellington Club.

Impressed by the lad's talent and dedication, Salaam takes him under his wings and starts training him in snooker. Will Midi succeed in fulfilling his father's dream? The rest of the film revolves around this plot.

Direction

Toolsidas Junior is based on true events in the life of Mridul Mahendra who is also the director and writer of this film. One of the biggest strength of this Rajiv Kapoor-Sanjay Dutt starrer is that it has its heart in the right place.

Despite being a sports drama, Mridul keeps his narrative simple, devoid of any melodrama. The screenplay by Mridul and Ashutosh Gowariker is crisp. Peel off the game of snooker and you will discover a touching father-son story. At the same time, it also throws light on a mentor-protege equation. The universal emotions in the film makes you laugh as well as shed a tear or two.

Speaking about the flip side, the plot of the film is predictable. There are hardly any surprises sprung in a runtime of 132 minutes. A few scenes appear a tad repetitive.

Performances

Toolsidas Junior is Rajiv Kapoor's swansong and it gets tad emotional to watch him on screen. The late actor in his role of a snooker player and a father struggling with alcoholism, delivers a touching performance. He makes his character likeable despite the flaws in him.

Sanjay Dutt as the no-nonsense coach leaves a mark with his grounded performance. The young artist Varun Buddhadev is endearing as Mridal aka Toolsidas Junior. His scenes both with late Rajiv Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt, are a treat to watch. It would be interesting to watch how this raw talent charts his way in the upcoming years. Dalip Tahil does his job as Toolsidas' snotty nemesis Jimmy Tandon. Chinmay Chandraunshuh as Goti is cute and entertaining in equal parts.

Technical Aspects

Kamaljeet Negi captures the vivid colours of the balls on the snooker table as effective as the busy bylanes and streets of Kolkata. Chandrashekhar Prajapati's tight editing makes sure that you stay hooked to the narrative.

Music

'Udd Chala' crooned by Arijit Singh is pleasant to the ears. Daniel B George's background music gels well with the theme of the film.

Verdict

In one of the scenes when Mridal seeks advice from his mentor for always messing up with the black ball, the latter tells him about the 'finishing problem' where people start things well in the beginning, but fail to finish them. "Life ki chhoti choti cheezon ko khatam karna seekho. Kaaliya toh kya Gabbar ko bhi pocket mein thukaadongey," the trainer tells the snooker genius.

Thankfully, Toolsidas Junior doesn't have any 'finishing problem', and all the balls drop smoothly in the pocket. Take a cue from us and watch this sweet film with your near and dear ones.