Jersey Movie Review: Shahid Kapoor touches your soul while Pankaj Kapur wins hearts in this engaging film

In the last few years, Shahid Kapoor has evolved as an actor and proven his versatility by taking up different characters. Take his last film Kabir Singh , for instance. While the story was criticized by some for glamorizing ‘toxic masculinity’, almost every single member from the audience agreed that the actor’s performance was on-point. So when his next film Jersey was announced, I was personally very excited to see what next Shahid as to offer. On top of that, it is the Hindi remake of Gowtam Tinnanuri Telugu masterpiece of the same name. Well, the much awaited sports drama is finally in theatres and it is definitely worth a watch. Here’s why!

The film begins with a couple of girls eagerly looking for a book titled Jersey at a bookstore. The boy who bought the last copy offers it to them saying that the story is about his father. The film then takes us back in time and introduces us to Arjun Talwar, a talented cricketer with a badass attitude. He is a phenomenal player who had to leave the sport which he lived for due to circumstances, which we will not disclose because we are against spoilers! 10 years after quitting cricket, Arjun has become a shadow of his former self. Until one day when he decides to return to the pitch as a player at the age of 36.

The story is heartwarming with twists along the way, some predictable and some unthinkable. The first part, honestly, is slightly depressing because you see how unhappy Arjun is with life. He was suspended from his government job two years ago, is unable to help out his wife Vidya in running their house and can’t afford to buy the one gift his son asks for-- a Jersey. It breaks your heart to see him like that and the story starts looking quite slow, but things pick up incredibly in the second half. The film is long, but it does not feel stretched out because it gives us the entire story, keeping us glued to the screen till the very end. Meanwhile, the powerful background score and camera techniques make it a cinematic experience to remember.

Mrunal and Ronit have done good work and look quite convincing as their characters. Sadly, Mrunal’s chemistry with Shahid can’t exactly be described as ‘magical’, and continuously hearing ‘baabu’ could irk some. Meanwhile Pankaj Kapur has done a fantastic job of portraying Arjun’s coach, who loves him like a son and believes in him. He is the soul of this film and leaves as good an impression on you as his son’s acting chops. The veteran star will make you smile each time he appears on screen. Coming to the main man himself-- Shahid Kapoor as Arjun Talwar. From his attitude while playing cricket, his love for his son, the passionate side of his personality, stellar performance as a batsman, to the phase in his life where he is barely living-- you see him as the character Arjun, not as Shahid the actor.

He has done a phenomenal job and majority of times you could feel the emotions that his character was feeling. There is one particular scene, which we also see in the trailer, where Arjun rushes to a railway station and screams at the top of his lungs. It is a combination of feeling overwhelmed, because he has been selected for the Ranji team, and venting out years of frustration-- undoubtedly one of the most powerful scenes of the film, which gave me goose bumps. His expressions, dialogue delivery, body language and batting skills could not have been better. Hats off to Shahid Kapoor! His performance will touch your soul.

All in all, it is a well-made engaging film. It offers you drama, emotion, romance and entertainment. There are a few moments where you might look for logic and not really find it, but it is a heartwarming tale which inspires you to never stop dreaming. Jersey is, in every way, worth your time.