Jersey (2022) is the Hindi remake of the 2019 Telegu film of the same name. The film was written and directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, who also directed the original 2019 film. Jersey revolves around a dejected ex-cricketer, Arjun Talwar (played by Shahid Kapoor) and his path towards restarting the career after 10 years. Arjun received pressure from his devoted wife, Vidya (played by Mrunal Thakur) who worries about the family finances.
Now streaming on Netflix.
Jersey (2022)- Movie Review
After the success of Kabir Singh at the box office, Shahid Kapoor is taking on another remake of a Telegu film, but this time with a more sympathetic character. Jersey (2022) has been postponed multiple times due to the Covid-19 virus, but eventually made its way to the box office in 22 April 2022.
Plot
Although Jersey is packaged as a sports film with cricket being the main profession of the main character, the movie’s main themes revolve around family, adversity and societal perceptions of age. Jersey is ultimately an emotional family movie, meant to tug at the audience’s heartstrings throughout the film. Tear-jerking scenes were littered throughout the film, including the beginning of the film where Arjun could not afford his son’s gift until the end when Kittu finally find out the truth about his father. At certain times, these scenes can be really overwhelming. They seemed to be take up so much of the screen time, making it feel like the movie really wants you to cry rather than letting you cry organically.
There are also parts of the plot that did not make much sense. For example, Arjun hid his illness from his wife for 10 years despite Vidya being the most important person to him, and no explanation was given as to why this is so. The story is also rather predictable, especially when it comes to Kittu receiving the jersey and the final results of the Ranji trophy.
Characters and Cast Performances
Even though Jersey’s story and plot is not the best, it still is an enjoyable watch due to its characters and cast. Shahid’s character Arjun straddles the line of being irresponsible yet understandable, and that makes for a great gray character. Even though there are multiple times I disliked Arjun for not doing his part in the family, there is still a sense of sympathy towards the character as he have some redeemable qualities. Gray characters are very unique in cinematic stories and can be difficult to pull off, but Shahid Kapoor nailed the character perfectly. There are several scenes where the camera just focuses on Shahid’s silent moment as the character, and those scenes turned out to be extremely powerful in representing the character’s inner turmoil.
Mrunal Thakur’s character was also not a typical flower pot. Vidya is positioned to be a strong character that is the main driving force for Arjun’s actions, allowing Mrunal to paint different colours for the character, despite it being a minor one. Jersey also capitalize in Shahid and Pankaj Kapur’s father-son relationship. Perhaps due to their real life bond, the two played their player-father coach relationship at extreme ease. They themselves delivered a few touching moments in the film.
Verdict
The story and plot will not wow you, but the performance of the cast is worth watching.
6.5/ 10