Panga - Movie Review

One of the basic tenets of good cinema is that it should be all-consuming and engrossing. Even if the viewers know the beats of the story and can predict the end, it is the story-telling and performances that carry the power to keep its viewers hooked. Director Ashwini Iyer Tiwari’s third directorial, Panga, starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadda and Jassi Gill is an endearing and heart-warming tale of a former Kabaddi captain making her comeback after a hiatus of 8 years.

While the plot may sound like a sports biopic on the lines of Sultan (2016) and Dangal (2016), on the contrary, writers Ashwini Iyer Tiwari and Nikhil Mehrohtra make us a part of the rich world of a simpleton in her early 30s, taking us through her chores and suppressed ambitions. Jaya Nigam (Kangana Ranaut) is a 32-year-old, mother of a 7-year old kid, married to a railway engineer and working as a ticketing clerk. In the words of her doting husband, Prashant Shrivastava (Jassi Gill), she values three things the most in her life – her husband, her son (Yagya Bhasin) and Kabaddi. During the day, Jaya is any regular working woman – tending to her family’s needs, juggling between her work & home and a playing an extra cautious mom to her son, who has an immunity disorder. Though she puts up a facade of happiness during the day, it is in her sleep that the kabaddi player inside her is awakened, with her poor husband bearing the brunt of her kicks!

The rest of the story is anyone’s guess – it is Jaya’s journey back into Kabaddi. But, the treatment and narrative make us root for her, just as everyone else in her life does. Panga isn’t about Kabaddi alone, it is about the sacrifices and choices every regular woman makes – willingly or otherwise. Jaya puts this beautifully in a scene where she tells her husband that looking at him or at their son gives her immense happiness, but, looking at herself makes her regret not pursuing her passion. While she left Kabaddi at the peak of her career – as the Captain of the Indian team – she could never really let the sport leave her. But, like every Hindustani emotional mother, she is torn between her dream to make a comeback and her guilt of neglecting her family. A huge pat on the back of the director, Ashwini, for brilliantly showing Jaya’s dilemma, guilt and vulnerabilities. Also, for subtly driving home the point that it is only the women who are guilt-tripped into making tough choices while their husbands remain unremorseful. Though Prashant is an exception – he is an enormously supporting husband and a doting dad.

Panga also works a great deal because of its positive narrative – there are no real ‘villains’ or hinderances. While some may feel this is all too convenient and makes Jaya’s struggles easier, I beg to differ. The film presents an idealistic world – an extremely supportive husband, a best friend who trains Jaya or even a helpful neighbour looking after her son in her absence. While such an ideal world may be difficult to find in reality, this structure of Panga gives its viewers hope. It also subtly sends out the message to men and the society to encourage women to take a flight of their choice and not be caged by the burden of family and societal pressures. Kudos to the writers for not using monologues to sermon the audience but underplay it effectively.

After a slew of not-so-successful films, Kangana Ranaut is in top form in an equally well-made film. Playing a simpleton, she reminds us of Rani from Queen (2014), though she is a dutiful wife and mother here. She brilliantly expresses the various shades of an average woman and does not miss a single beat in any of her avtaars. One of my favourite scenes in the film is when she leaves home, even though her husband and son are supportive and encouraging, her eyes convey her hesitation and guilt in leaving her family. Playing her backbone, Prashant, Jassi Gill gives an honest performance as the man struggling to keep the house running in his wife’s absence. Their adorable son, Adi, played by Yagya Bhasin is a delight to watch. It is commendable to see such a young actor deliver quite a few laughs. Richa Chadda plays her best friend and Kabaddi mate, Meenu, who gets some of the best one-liners in the movie. If there is any actor who deserves to be on the screen more often, it has to be her!

Apart from Kangana, the credit for this lovely movie goes to its director-writer Ashwini Iyer Tiwari as well. Like her debut film, Nil Battey Sanatta (2016), which touched a delicate mother-daughter equation, Panga is her ode to the female tribe, giving them the impetus to fly and that it is never too late to pursue one’s dreams!

My Rating – 4/5