Champion, produced by Swapna Cinema, hits the cinemas today. In this section, we are going to review the latest BO release.
Plot:
It's early days of Indian Independence. The Nizam refuse to step down despite being warned by Sardar Patel. In this context, a village named Bhairanpally valiantly stands up to the Nizam. A young footballer named Michael (Roshan Meka), in an attempt to play for the Manchester Club (he is a British regime supporter), ends up living in the village as an alias. What circumstances drove him to do? What consequences does this have?
Performances & Technical aspects:
Roshan has got the looks. Although his presence lacks the required gusto in the action sequences, he is confident for a second-timer. His acting chops were derivative in Pelli SandaD; that can't be said about his output in Champion.
Anaswara Rajan, as a theater artist who falls in love with Michael, is the only other good performer in a film full of dull artists. Kalyan Chakravarthy is wasted in the role of a rebel whose strategies are sketchy. Kay Kay Menon as the Nizam guy and Prakash Raj as Patel are forgettable. Others like Murali Sharma (as a communist leader), Vennela Kishore, and Abhay Bethiganti are average. There is an unexpected cameo.
Mickey J Meyer doesn't herald anything new. The soundscape is mellow in a welcoming way. Madhie's cinematography is decent. The production design is nothing outstanding.
Post-Mortem:
Writer-director Pradeep Advaitham takes on a familiar backdrop with a twist: the male lead is not your textbook patriot but someone who sees the colonial rule as a net positive. Childhood trauma and a self-redemption arc follow.
The novelty, however, remains unrealized. The sense of urgency in the second hour feels tedious and derivative. The dialogue-delivery lacks the zest you would expect from a patriotic action drama. After an overlong first half that lasts 90 minutes, the second half should have hit the floor running. Ten minutes post interval, a pre-wedding song acquires the mundane vibe of a pre-wedding shoot. Random conversations lack depth or simply parade the lack of sophistication in Indian villagers.
Because the hero's character lacks the required force and charm, the drama lacks tension. The emotions feel distant.
The valour of Bhairanpally is the film's calling card. Yet, we are never told how their strategies are different from those of others, what makes their leader/head specially smart, etc. We are just told they are a cut above the rest.
The visual grammar is fairly dated, with most scenes taking place in daytime and lacking a contemporary quality.
Oppressed-oppressor stories can take interesting forms. Krish Jagarlamudi's Kanche took one. It was high-thinking and embedded its social philosophy into the narrative. Champion is high-thinking on a thematic level, whereas the narrative aims at nothing subversive.
Closing Remarks:
Champion goes for a toss. It's not silly but tedious. It's not overly banal but emotionally distant.
