Spoiler Warning: This section has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review. It may have some details that could distort your experience while watching the movie.

Story:
South Hall County Club has an all South Asian Football team. They don’t have finances. They don’t have good players. They don’t have the confidence to win. See their road to overcome these obstacles.

What worked:

  • The jerky movement of the camera for the car scenes was good.
  • The flashback scenes were shot well.
  • The way it was not spelt out why John Abraham was not taken in the Aston team, but left the audience to decipher from other information given.
  • I am not a huge football fan, but I am assuming a peek at the Manchester United Club’s dressing room, Wall of fame, and ground must be a huge deal for die-hard fans.

What didn’t:

  • I know very little about football. But, that a football team with such a loser for a goalkeeper can go from rags to riches amazes me. True, they should be given credit for not making him change overnight, but given that he didn’t improve over the season, can a team really win consistently?
  • The lighting in scene of a rainy night looked too put-on for an outdoor setting.
  • Death of the county club owner. The most unconvincing death scene ever.
  • How come so many people who lived abroad all their lives had no accent at all?
  • The “thi, hai, rahegi” dialogue. (was, is, will be). How….yuck!
  • Cheesy symbolic dialogues with the flower arrangement used as the symbols.
  • Tony Singh’s (Boman Irani’s) contrived speeches.
  • Why wasn’t the team practicing before the interval?
  • Dialogue between Shaan and Sunny in the hotel room. - Lame, inane, it had it all.
  • Mother facing the father-son divide…oh p-lease!
  • How come Tony Singh and Sunny’s dad don’t age over 20 years?
  • The animated bird-view shot of the field and the animated fireworks!
  • The soap-opera-ish twists and turns towards the climax.
  • Shouldn’t the loving, caring, doctor girlfriend run to he ailing boyfriend who might be dead as soon as the game is over, instead of cheering?

Nitty-gritty:

  • The tell-tale signs used in the beginning of the movie to show the sorry state of affairs of the South Hall County Club were really sorry.
  • Why was the English lady, Anne in soft focus/out of focus all the time?
  • The matching of the prize money amount with that of the money required for the lease of the ground was all too convenient.
  • Why were Dalip Tahil’s co-commentators wearing constipated looks?
  • Is “Hindustaniyat” a word?

Rating: Switch channels if it’s on cable!

• Must see - on the big screen
• Watch for sure, preferably in theatre
• Wait for video release
• Watch if you have nothing better to do
• Switch channels if it’s on cable!

This review was also published on meetu’s website.