Shrikant Dabholkar was a brilliant football player who formerly lived in Neemuch. The community takes great pleasure in its statue. The largest event on the calendar is a tournament with his name on it.
For years, Coach Pradeep has made an effort to hoist the Shrikant Dabholkar trophy. However, it really doesn’t aid that his squad has players that hardly know how to move the ball with their feet.
Javed Jafferi’s character Pradeep is as fearless as he is thick-skinned. There will soon be another competition. Pradeep is able to mobilise the soldiers (it requires some emotional blackmail). He wants his nephew Meenu (Jitendra Kumar) to be a part of the squad.
Meenu, though, is quite preoccupied. He has once more fallen in love, this time with Disha (Arushi Sharma). He’s committed to making this one succeed. Meenu attempts every rule in the book short of lassoing Disha with a mangalsutra.
Meenu, a magician who strives to emulate his hero Chhabra, is also a magician (Manoj Joshi). While Disha is the focus of one eye, Chabbra’s prestidigitation extravaganza is the focus of the other.
The 167-minute movie’s languid pacing strives to balance being a love tale, a coming-of-age narrative, and a sports comedy. However, the likelihood of only one flavour striking out in a mixture like this is relatively high.
The romantic subplot makes a concerted effort to enhance Jitendra Kumar’s reputation as a leading guy. If we’re being kind, Meenu piles on Disha in a way that can be considered sweet, but if we’re being really honest, it’s truly scary.
Disha has taken over for Meenu’s ex Iccha (Rukhsar Dhillon). A joke about how direction triumphs over desire is therefore appropriate. One-third of the movie is devoted to Meenu’s courtship, which raises red flags that the movie’s writers are powerless to quell. When the movie goes back to the football squad, it’s a relief.
When the competition starts, the movie really picks up. Every cutaway to Meenu’s complicated love life and his magic tricks detracts from the true spectacle of everyday individuals striving to be remarkable while kicking a ball in any direction.
Jitendra Kumar portrays a man with reptile blood who is unable to see past his nose admirably. Kumar’s reputation is based on his portrayal of a gruff everyman who struggles, occasionally unsuccessfully, against circumstances that aren’t of his control. Compared to Kumar’s other personalities, Meenu has a lot more control. But it’s difficult to escape the impression that Meenu stumbled into adulthood without really comprehending how he got there.
Rating: 2.5