Direction: Reema Kagti
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Kunal Kapoor, Amit Sadh, Vineet Kumar Singh, Sunny Kaushal, Mouni Roy
Tapan Das (Akshay Kumar), coach to the British Indian Hockey team, is frustrated because of the term ‘British’ affixed with the name of the team. Under his guidance the team wins ‘Gold’ but he wants the team to be free of British rule & they should stand up to the Indian national anthem when the play ends. Because of his alcoholism, he gets fired from the team and as a result he gets involved in outlawed businesses like betting.
But, with the announcement of India getting its Independence and Olympics finally happening in London, a new hope arises for Tapan Das. He goes all out to form a team that will bring the ‘Gold’ for independent India. But, the news of partition divides the team and the dream that Tapan Das saw. Rest of the story is all about how Tapan manages chase something that’s impossible to achieve but not for someone as patriotic as him.
‘Gold’ has a story that can be moulded into anything, a ‘Chak De India’ level of perfection or an Azhar like disaster. Reema Kagti and Rajesh Devraj’s story somewhere covers everything but still there’s something missing. There are moments that will make you clap, whistle & melt your heart but this genre has given us so many memorable films, you kind of expect the same from ‘Gold’. It’s not at all an average film or even an above average one; it’s an above-good movie which could’ve been excellent.
The whole set-up of vintage India is the major highlight of the film as it’s every bit of beautiful. Taking the colour correction theme from ‘Peaky Blinders’ the production value looks top notch. At some places, the green screens are bit of a turn-off but a normal cine-goer will hardly notice it. With one of the best climaxes ever seen, Reema and team achieve a thrilling high. From the word go, the movie just races along-with its fast paced screenplay but lags somewhere in between. A special mention of the scene including Hitler in the start of the film; that clicks brilliantly setting up the patriotic base for the film.
Akshay Kumar explores various shades in the film, from comedy to romance to drama, and nails every single one of it. He’s high on energy throughout his performance and that goes in his favor. He delivers one of the finest performances of his lifetime & promises every ounce of entertainment. The portrayal of Raghubir Pratap Singh will go down as the best performance under the filmography of Amit Sadh. He’s flawlessly royal in the film & shares some amazing scenes with the others.
Vineet Singh continues his winning streak after a brilliant performance in Mukkabaaz. I don’t understand why the makers can’t recognize his worth and bag him more often. Mouni Roy surprises as a Bengali wife & masters the accent. She’s a delightful surprise and super natural. After Vicky Kaushal’s mind-blowing performance in Sanju, it’s Sunny Kaushal who proves he’s here to stay.
Reema Kagti had a very tough goal to achieve and she manages to pull it off with some misses. She justifies the script & tries to deliver it with the maximum impact. This easily could’ve gone to the boring side but thanks to Reema’s direction & story, it manages to keep you stick to your seats.
Sachin-Jigar’s Chad Gayi Hai is the best song of the lot & adds the entertainment value to the story. Akshay Kumar’s dance makes an average song like Monobina bearable. Naino Ne Bandhi wasn’t needed but it’s there to strengthen the chemistry factor between Akshay and Mouni. The background score by Sachin-Jigar is exactly what a film like ‘Gold’ needed. Though I missed a song like the title track of ‘Chak De India’ throughout the film.
All said and done, ‘Gold’ isn’t ‘Gold’ because of one person. As shown in the film, it’s a team work & hence it’s victorious.
My Verdict
My Ratings
3.5
Akshay Kumar is unstoppable & Gold will do nothing but add yet another hit to his account.
