Mary Kom
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Casts: Priyanka Chopra, Darshan Kumar, Sunil Thapa, Minakkshi Kalitaa, Zachary Coffin and Shishir Sharma
Banner: Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Bhansali Productions
Director: Omung Kumar
Producer: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Writers: Saiwyn Quadras
Music: Shashi Suman and shivam
Release Date: 5th September 2014
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Story line: The movie begins in earnest by showing an incident that builds Priyanka Chopra interest in self-defence before showing her first interaction with a boxing gymnasium and coach and her entry into boxing. The movie then tells the story of her initial training, her struggle with a new sport, her immense dedication and will, her passion, while at the same time showing the immense struggle of balancing the needs of home and boxing and the additional sacrifices that she had to make to pay for her classes and equipment, all in the context of the poverty that was a constant in her early life.
The script builds up to the reasons for Mary’s first unsanctioned fight and the immense odds that she faces against a fancied opponent to win some money for her family. The script then engages with Mary’s relationship with the officialdom of the boxing federation and weaves in the challenges of that relationship into her burgeoning professional career in the larger context of Onler’s proposal and her decision to marry him and then giving birth to twins. Mary is shown balancing the demands of her training with the demands of her young children and how the balance is made possible by the unending attention of Onler, who learns to take care of the children under Mary’s supervision.
The story shows how the country writes her off and the pressures on her and her family to have her quit. And then it is shown how she makes a comeback and wins accolades, along with taking care of family and children.
Know more about the captain of the Ship, the director: Mumbai — And who is Omung Kumar — actor, model, television host, art director and production designer, or a film director? Incredibly, he’s all. As actor, he did vintage Doordarshan shows like “Magic Lamp” and “Khel Khilone.” He has been a model for a few ad campaigns, including for Godrej. He was host in “Ek Minute,” a Zee show that ran for 12 years. He acted in films like “Na Tum Jaano Na Hum” and “Ishq Vishq.”
As an art man, he not only has done the sets of “Ek Minute,” but also television shows like “Sarabhai Vs. Sarabhai,” “Bigg Boss,” “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa” and “Just Dance” but also of movies like “Dil Hai Tumhaara,” “Ishq Vishk,” “Fida,” “Masti,” “Chameli,” “Black,” “Waqt – The Race Against Time” and “Saawariya.”
And now he is set to turn director with “Mary Kom,” his bio-pic on Chugneijang Mary Kom, the five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each of the six world championships. Kom is also the only Indian boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal.
The half-Punjabi-half-Irani Omung is soft-spoken, and his office a funky delight in its décor just like an art director’s should be. And on the peculiar spelling of his first name, he admits that he has been “okay” with his initials “OK” even though he has always been called “Umang.”
Son of Sabha and Vipin Kumar Bhandula, both Film & Television Institute (FTII, Pune) alumni from the same batch as Shatrughan Sinha in the late ‘60s, neither of whom hit the big league as actors, Omung kept doing stage shows since childhood. As he was good in drawing and painting, a natural corollary to schooling was joining the Bandra School of Art. A First Class First result led to an instant offer from Hindustan Thompson Associates, the advertising giant.
Omung met Vanita, his wife, in college too, and now, while he is the art director, Vanita remains his production designer.
Facts And Figures: Priyanka Chopra is playing the role of Mary Kom. Priyanka Chopra visited Kom’s hometown in Manipur as a familiarization to learn more about the life of Mary Kom. While the visit Chopra was shared advices from Mary Kom and she stated “When she came to Manipur, she knew about boxing so I gave her tips as a mother and a wife, how I went about managing my home and profession, how I live with my family — basically she got to know aspects about my family life.” Chopra also had to go through an extensive training schedule for the role of a boxer for 10 days to ensure physicality and agility is well in place before the shoot. Priyanka also suffered an injury while shooting for the film. “Priyanka was filming a boxing scene with an actor from the North-East. She fell on the floor due to the impact. She got the shot spot on, so director Omung Kumar decided to retain it. The cut mark that you will eventually see on screen under her eye is real but we did touch it up with make-up to make it look deeper,” says Uday Shirale, who has been working on Priyanka’s look.Film is scheduled to release in two versions one for Indian audience and another for International audience
My Gut Feel and comments:
Chances of Mary Kom going wrong seems be less as debutant director played around interestingly around thin line of a genuine honest biopic which could be boring at times vs a commercial mass appealing masala entertainer screenplay. Indian cinema is on right track as back to back we would see women centric film mary kom after delightful Mardani. This indeed a rare moment and as a mature audience we should cherish this by excepting Mary kom as well. With extensive promotion Mary kom do manage to create enough buzz to pull the audience to theater. Promos made it clear that it’s a story of a struggle of a female boxer who made to top. I personally feels that where ever possible songs should be avoided as they most of the time put breaks on the high voltage drama. Length of the movie should be too short too keep the audience engage. Like movie from the same league Bhaag Milkha bhaag should have been 30 minutes shorter as per my judgment.
I would give Mary Kom 3.5 stars out of 5 stars, five days before the release and expecting it to be a watchable entertainer.