MUMBAI: One of the much-awaited movies was the biopic on celebrated Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal. Ever since the movie was announced, fans all over were looking forward for this inspirational real-life story on Saina. The film was initially set to release in September 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. It stars Parineeti Chopra, who will play the titular role as Saina Nehwal, along with Manav Kaul, Eshan Naqvi, Meghna Malik, and Naishaa (plays young Saina). The film is directed by Amole Gupte and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Sujay Jairaj, and Rashesh Shah under the banner of T-Series and Front Foot Pictures.

The story deals with the life of Saina Nehwal, her love for badminton since she was a child, and how she fought aggressively in this journey to fulfil her dreams with the support of her mother inspite of all the odds.

The screenplay of the movie is brilliant. The story takes a good start and grabs your attention right from the first scene, but later drops the pace. The direction is average.

Talking about the performances, Parineeti Chopra delivered a decent one, but her performances wavers several times in the movie. On the other hand, it was a treat to watch Meghna Malik, who plays mother to Saina. The actress was too good in the movie, and at several points, you may connect to her emotionally. Naishaa, who played the young Saina (she is the real badminton champ) brought life to the movie with her game. We can see the efforts and energy of this little champ in her badminton scenes. Manav Kaul and Eshan Naqvi also delivered decent work on their part.

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The positive points are that the movie is high on emotions. It manages to touch your heart, and every emotion is captured perfectly. Parineeti’s effort can be seen inspite of the fact that you may or may not connect to her character. As mentioned earlier, Meghna Malik was brilliant. The background music, and the song Parinda indeed enhance your viewing experience.

The negative point is that being a sports biopic, the badminton scenes were poorly shot. You will see hardly any matches played by onscreen Saina, Parineeti. The movie loses its grip, especially in the second half, and you may feel a disconnect with Saina.

Having said that, Saina is strictly a decent watch.

Team TellyChakkar goes for 3/5 stars for Saina.

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