Chhalaang

Tejas Nair

There's something really off about Chhalaang (A leap) but I cannot put a finger on it. Plus it's hard to agree with whatever the sports drama advocates, including this one time where a coach cheats to let a student win a game (and no one bats an eye). That is the exact problem I had with Nitesh Tiwari's Chhichhore (2019) last year (but it was a smaller sin then) which co-incidentally uses the same typeface as this in its posters. Chhalaang aims to be about grit and determination and romance but the lead character's bumptiousness prevents me from taking him and the film seriously. It annoys you a little when the man (Rajkummar), a slacking fitness coach at a small rural school, is forced to pull up his socks at the sight of a nemesis coach assigned by the principal. And yet his traits don't change and I don't see any motivational element in it. Performances are on point but the lead character's tired interests prevented me from enjoying this otherwise well-made film. **Grade D-**.