WORLD CUPP 2011
Hit Wicket
by Vishal Verma

An S.A.Gems Presentation & Production

Writer-Director : Ravi Kapoor (debut)
Genre : Crime thriller drama
Target Audience : General

Starring

Ravi Kapoor (Debut)...... Ravi Indulkar
Manisha Chetterjee...... Soha
Ehsaan Khan...... Encounter Specialist
Zakir Hussain...... Bookie Shobhan
Suresh Oberoi...... Coach
Vineet Sharma...... Ravi Pujari
Prem Chopra...... BICI Chairman
Smita Jaykar...... Mrs. Indulkar
Aadesh Shrivastav...... Special Appearance
Kashmira Shah...... Item Girl

Technical Analysis

This first effort from wannabe bollywood aspirants – Ravi Kapoor as writer, director, actor. S.A Gems as producer is an amateurish confused synthesis of SRK’s Chak De meeting Emran Hashmi’s Jannat meeting Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Satya’, all failing to keep their appointment with the audience.

Bollywood flicks on cricket right from ‘All Rounder’ staring Kumar Gaurav to ‘Awwal Number’ starring Aamir, to ‘Victory’ starring ‘Hurman Baweja’, have had a bad B.O. report. ‘Jannat’ was treated as a love story. ‘Lagaan’ was classy with popular mass appeal that spoke of motivation, love, hope & pride.

The problem with ‘World Cupp 2011’ is that it swings between genres & continuously slips from the laps & minds of crime thriller lovers, drama followers or sports flick if it was. The debut of Ravi Kumar is lousy as a writer – director but as an actor he showcases the ability to prove. The movie is bummer is every sense depressing in order to be thrilling & uplifting regarding the fixing sagas in Indian cricket history.

Detailing is poor with only words like ‘khaya’ & ‘lagaya’ used but the real way how chits are made & defaulters are taken into book. How prospects are coned, how the mafia & the policia work hand in hand, how the money gets transferred, how the players are contacted, how the rates are fixed, decided, how the sub bookie eats up the gala, & most importantly how the match gets scripted if there’s truth or for fiction. All this necessities are surprisingly avoided & the whole flick only concentrates on the debutant Ravi Kapoor.
For example the reaction of the family/friends of the four accompanies of the protagonist who also get debarred for 4 years for fixing a crucial match is ignored for strange reasons. The above reson is just one example of the loopholes in the script.

The flick struggles very hard to find the e quotient but fails miserably.

Technically better with appropriate production values, the flick also scores low on music given by Aadesh Shrivastav.

The 2 redeeming factor are that it doesn,t go vulgar or sleazy considering the scope provided by its cricket, politics & all theme & Ravi Kapoor has raw talent that can be groomed by a polish hand.. Veterans Zakir Hussain, Suresh Oberoi, Smita Jaykar & Prem Chopra are competent. Player & commentators Saba Karim & Chopra impress.

The flick gets 2 out of 5 for the above mentioned qualities.

The Story

Indian cricket captain Ravi Indulkar(Ravi Kapoor) is offered bribe by the booking lords & he immediately agrees?. With his four friends Rajpal, Hiten, Irfan and Balwinder. They fix a World Cupp match held in 2007 against Pakistan with a bookie- Shobhan (Zakir Hussain.

They are exposed by press reporter Balakrishnan, BICI bans the captain Ravi Indulkar and his four teammates for four years. Ravi's girlfriend Soha (Manisha Chetterjee) also leaves him because of his deeds and in the mean while Ravi also loses his dad.

The coach (Suresh Oberoi) once again gives chance to Ravi and his four teammates & you know on what grounds, his wife asks him to do so & the couch agrees. Now you know why India was lacking behind in past. Anyways, Once again India faces its arch rivals Pakistan in final. & you don,t need to be an Einstein in guessing what happens next.

Promotion

Must say, the media tie –ups has helped in creating whatever buzz & honestly speaking it was a smart move. Media promotions in print & satellite have been adequate.

Business Analysis

The Confidence & boldness to stand against the current world’s most talk about flick is striking but this amazing attitude is absent from the film which tells an unconvincing & tedious story. The flick has better prospects in its non theatrical sales.

Other Credits

Co Producer: Anand Chawla. Lyricist: Sameer. Music Director: Aadesh Shrivastav. Cinematography: Ashok Mehta. Choreography: Raju Khan. Dialogue: Ravi Kapoor. Editor: Chin2 Singh. Screen Play: Ansarul Haque. Media Promotions: Picture n Kraft(Parul Chawla) with H.S. Communications (Susheel Sharma).

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