Review of Chaamp

 

#Chaamp is definitely not a remake but at the same time it is not an original story too. There is nothing new which you have not seen earlier, from start to finish it goes by the tried and tested formula and from the very beginning you know where it will end. Still for most of the part you may like it because of the good presentation of the boxing matches and an earnest try by the leading man to perform well on screen.

The story is very routine a small town boy Shivaji (Dev) with talent and interest, dreams to become a boxer, he accidentally meets a dedicated coach Buro Bagchi (Chiranjeet Chakraborty). The coach guides him and leads him to professional boxing , Shivaji gets a quick success, big fame, money , a girlfriend Jaya (Rukmini Maiya) who later becomes his wife.Along with that he achieves lots of arrogance and ego. But life was not that easy for him and a sudden accident takes everything back from him and brings him back to roads from where he had started his journey . But a true champion is always a champion and he makes a successful comeback fighting against all the adversities.

Every plot and characters in the story is cliche and have been seen in many movies earlier only the love triangle plot in the first half is quite new for a sports based film. There are enough loop holes in the screenplay specially in the second half which is not that easy to digest. There are moments which are too much melodramatic and tries hard to make you emotional but it really does not work. If we focus about the boxing matches , then the matches has been shot quite well considering the budget and time given for the shooting. It's true Dev is not some Mr. Perfectionist and you can't expect 100% authentication in the boxing matches but still it's much better.

As a director Raj Chakraborty has done quite good job and has made the movie enjoyable for its target audiences. Specially in the first half he has captured the struggle of Shivaji quite well, he is always more efficient in showing small town environment.

Dev is constantly trying to prove himself a better actor and while watching the film you can identify the journey of Shivaji the boxer with Dev the actor. He too had achieved a quick stardom but then he started loosing ground in mainstream commercial cinema. Later he tried to experiment with his choice of films to prove himself as a better actor and now he has gone a step further to produce movies which can establish him as a better actor. Dev has done good job specially in the emotional portions in the second half. The stable look suits him quite well. Also for playing a boxer, physical transformation is very important part and he has done that wonderfully. It may not be a lifetime best performance but it is an honest attempt towards improvement and it shows.

Rukmini Maitra was a successful model so she knows how to look beautiful and confident in front of camera. Acting wise she has done an okay job. In the first half where she plays the rich girlfriend of Shivaji, her model persona dominates her as an actress, she looks more like a model in her glamorous clothes. In the second half she looks more focused as an actress. She has a good future in Bengali films.

Chiranjeet Chakraborty is okay as the dedicated coach. Although there is not much scope where he will be seen technically as a coach rather his character is more like an inspiring elder brother. He has given a restrained performance and looks convincing.

Priyanka Sarkar has very little to do as the friend and secret lover of Shivaji. In her limited screen time she is very impressive. She has done a fresh look which suits her character very well. She has portrayed her bubbly character with ample energy which is required for the character. 

Laboni Sarkar, Supriya Datta had done very much overacting as expected from them. Kamaleshwar Mukherjee is good as the sports journalist.

Among the technical team Soumik Halder deserves special mention for his superb work with his camera. He has captured the boxing matches wonderfully. Apart from the boxing ring, the narrow lanes of a village in Purulia, or the beauty of big city Kolkata has been captured so well. Another person who deserves a mention is the production designer who had done good job with village setup and also during Shivaji's struggle phase in the first half but it's surprising how they can be so careless about the detailing in the second half. In second half when Shivaji has no money at all, the setting of the house where he lives with his wife during their poverty phase really looks odd and does not go in sync with the financial condition of the characters.

Music is by Jeet Ganguly (with additional music by Anupam Roy and Raftaar for promotional songs). The songs are okay and goes well with the narrative but it's not that popular which is expected from Jeet Ganguly. Only two songs "Moula Re" and "Jaya Tomari" are popular, rest of the songs are just okay.

Overall Chaamp is an earnest attempt to make a good quality sports based film in Bengali. You can watch it to encourage Dev as a producer and as an actor.