Gold Movie Review: This Film Strikes Gold!

Sports films usually follow a certain formula… there is an underdog team with unity issues, a motivating mentor, a patriotic speech before the climactic match and the final victory. Reema Kagti’s Gold starring Akshay Kumar and others, doesn’t veer away from this formula and yet, Gold is a film that will warm the cockles of your heart.

Tapan Das (Akshay), the functionally alcoholic manager of the hockey team under British India, dreams of winning the Olympic gold medal for free India and sets about forming a team on knowing that India will soon attain Independence. However, even as he forms the team, it is ripped apart by Partition, which not only divides the country, but also the team and now, Tapan is racing against time to form a new team for the 1948 Olympics in London. Will Tapan manage to do it in time and make his dream come true?

Akshay Kumar gives a stellar performance as the ‘pagal Bengali’ Tapan Das, though his pronounced Bengali accent comes across as a tad too overdone. Mouni Roy, who plays his feisty wife, is rather delightful as the sharp-tongued but loving spouse. The rest of the cast comprising Kunal Kapoor, Vineet Kumar Singh, Amit Sadh and Sunny Kaushal, is absolutely superb and lends able support to Akshay. The four actors mentioned above form the backbone of the film and do a stellar job as the hockey players who win the day.

As for the film itself, I must admit that the film has certain elements that will remind you of Shimit Amin’s Chak De India starring Shah Rukh Khan. There is a rivalry between two players who don’t co-operate with each other on the field, a patriotic speech by the manager to motivate the players and bring them together and a benched player who is brought to play during the finals. However, having said that, Gold is a film that will make your hearts flutter with sheer adrenaline. The hockey matches have been choreographed magnificently and will bring you to the edge of your seats with your nails between your teeth.

Another thing that works for the film is the characters- whether it is the hot-headed Sikh Himmat Singh (Sunny Kaushal) or the regal Thakur (Amit Sadh) or the dignified Samrat (Kunal Kapoor) or the emotional Imtiaz Shah or the hustler Tapan, every character in the film is endearing and memorable enough to be remembered long after the movie is over.

In conclusion, though some elements from the film may remind you of ‘Chak De India’, ‘Gold’ is worth watching on its own merits too…