Jersey (2019)

There is that point in almost every sports drama where I zone out because of all the sports-related details that take centre-stage, and I almost always never want to zone back in. While the first part of the statement was true for Jersey, it's the way all the performances kept me engaged and invested, and most of all, the way the relationships in this movie felt real and heart-warming, that made me want to concentrate on what was happening even as I was zoned out. The father-son trajectory was beautiful of course, but even Arjun's (Nani, in one of the best performances ever) relationship with his coach Murthy (Sathyaraj) touched me a lot. I don't think I even have the words to express how brilliant I found the depiction of the marriage between Arjun and Sarah (Shraddha Srinath), the nuances of their relationship, and the love they shared and nurtured. That's the thing about Jersey- it works so well as a parent-child drama, a romantic drama, a teacher-student drama, and my favourite, a coming-of-age drama. But it never stops being funny (the little bit with Brahmaji was hilarious) and it never takes itself so seriously that you feel like you're being given a moral science lecture. It stays true to its core of being an extraordinary story about an extraordinary-but-ordinary person, and it's no surprise that it has won near-unanimous praise. 

This was a movie that I very much needed to see, since I am going through a bit of a rough patch right now. I am not saying that everything is better suddenly, but just that it came at the right time in my life like a hug I needed from someone who understands. And for that, I want to thank the writer, director and all the actors from the bottom of my heart. And also my best friend, who probably pulled some complicated technological stunt that I am far too inept to understand, but I appreciate nonetheless. And thank you to Nani, for surpassing everything that I had expected from him, and cementing his place permanently in my heart. #HappyBirthdayNaturalStarNani

PS- do not miss the Rajesh Khanna-Anand reference. Such a perfectly clever bit of writing that was, I am stunned, shook, stupefied. Now I shall go and make every cricket lover in my life (including an almost professional cricketer cousin also called Arjun) watch this film, because I must. Bye. 

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