My thoughts on original Jersey film.

This thread contains SPOILERS. So read at your own risk!

I decided to watch the original Telugu film Jersey starring Nani after seeing the Hindi remake trailer and hearing many good things about the original. After watching the film, my honest thoughts about it is that...

Yeah, it's a good film, even great. It has many emotional heart touching moments and goosebumps giving scenes. The story is predictable from the start because the climax is revealed at the beginning itself. Add to the fact that I ended up reading the whole plot on Wikipedia before watching the film (Don't know why I did that. Maybe I was drunk.), so even the end twist didn't surprise me.

But I think it was the right move to reveal the climax at the start because then the audience was ready for what was about to come. They didn't feel disappointed or heartbroken in the end. And it went well with the theme of the film. That it's the journey that matters, not the end result.

Jersey is not a success story. It's about a failure. The failure of a guy who never gave up trying. And that made me think. That this film is not really "healthy". Arjun is basically a drug addict and his drug is cricket. This sport was not just his passion or a gift, it's actually his obsession.

He gave up Cricket for 10 years but couldn't live a happy life with his family after it. We have heard countless stories of people giving up their passion for a normal life, instead of ruining it by struggling forever in the hope of making a career in it.

But Arjun is not like that. He gave up Cricket because of his heart disease but he could never be at peace with that decision. One can understand that, but it became an obsession when he wanted to come out of retirement at the age of 36. He knew he's putting his life in danger. He knew he could die. But he still went ahead and paid the price.

In the end, Arjun didn't play Cricket for his kid, or to gain his respect, or to play for India. He just did it because he wanted to play. He took retirement due to fear of death. But he came back because he wasn't scared to die anymore. His obsession took over his fear.

He knew it's better to die doing what he loves to do, instead of dying a bit daily. He could've done a normal 9 to 5 job, but that life would never have made him happy.

Should we judge Arjun for what he did? We can say he was selfish. He choose Cricket over his kid and his family. Left his wife as a widow and a son who would forever blame himself for his father's death. That is all true, but I also believe that people have the right to live their lives however they want, doing whatever they like.

Arjun went with this satisfaction that he died doing what he loved, instead of living another miserable 40 years and then dying blaming himself that his life could've been much better.

According to him, he could never have lived a satisfactory life with his family. He had the choice to be there for his son, to be with his wife, living a normal and long life if he wanted. But his first love was Cricket. He loved it more than his kid and his wife.

The director tried to make it seem like he decided to play Cricket again to gain back his son's respect. Because he tried to steal in his house and got humiliated by his son and wife. The movie tried to make the audience feel like he did it for his son, but that wasn't the case.

I think the writer and the director wanted to show Arjun's obsession as something healthy, which it wasn't. It's literally about a guy walking towards his death, not caring about his family.

Well...this was my take on the film.

Okay really looking forward to it even more now!

It is incredibly stupid to pick a path that leads you to the jaws of death ... even suicidal. Anyone who picks death over living a "boring" life needs to be smacked some sense into. That's my take on the movie.... and reading your review suddenly killed my appetite for this movie too. 😆 Too bad cuz Shahid is a phenomenal actor.

You should add ‘heavy spoilers’ in the title itself because it’s hard to control the urge to finish reading it once we open the thread. I am fine though because I watched the original when it came.

Arjun played cricket for his son though, because he couldn’t bear to see his son disappointed in him like the rest of the world. The movie was as much about Arjun as about his relationship with his son!

Originally posted by: SmittenKitten

It is incredibly stupid to pick a path that leads you to the jaws of death ... even suicidal. Anyone who picks death over living a "boring" life needs to be smacked some sense into. That's my take on the movie.... and reading your review suddenly killed my appetite for this movie too. 😆 Too bad cuz Shahid is a phenomenal actor.

He doesn’t pick ‘death’ though. He was living a dead life but to make his son happy, he picks ‘life’ again. Because Cricket happens to be his life. It’s not that straight forward and you mustn’t miss out on it if you were already planning to watch. Shahid is a wonderful actor and if you are a fan of his acting, you will get to see him from the first frame to the last frame flexing his acting muscles. I personally found the movie lacking in the editing department but hopefully they fixed it in the remake.

Originally posted by: catchmeifucan

He doesn’t pick ‘death’ though. He was living a dead life but to make his son happy, he picks ‘life’ again. Because Cricket happens to be his life. It’s not that straight forward and you mustn’t miss out on it if you were already planning to watch. Shahid is a wonderful actor and if you are a fan of his acting, you will get to see him from the first frame to the last frame flexing his acting muscles. I personally found the movie lacking in the editing department but hopefully they fixed it in the remake.

I undoubtedly love Shahid as an actor and think he's a fab dancer too. He always delivers even when he's a part of stupid movies, so I have no doubts he's gonna nail his role in Jersey.

I just didn't know it was a tragic movie ..... was never a fan of the hero dying at the end and while I can be tricked into watching them if I don't know the story ahead of time, it is a major dampener if I already know they're gonna die at the end. 😆

I also can't bring myself to appreciate someone who can't settle for anything other than "the one and only" thing that keeps them alive ... and that's what the character sounded like in the review. If he chooses to fulfill his or his son's desire knowing that the tradeoff is his life, I don't think he's setting a heroic example. .... but hey, i might give it a shot though cuz decently made movies are already few and far between, and it might not be as grim/black and white as I made it out to be in my previous post.

You watched the dubbed version , it has put the climax of the original film in the start of the film.

Nani has complained about it too.

IMO, it is another example where unhealthy behaviors are put on a pedestal.

Not being able to follow your passion is no excuse for being a shitty father and husband.

Putting your life at risk to get something materialistic for your loved ones is not noble. A child will get over not getting a jersey or a video game or a toy that was promised - but they will struggle to get over a lost parent.

The healthiest thing for Arjun to do would have been to see a therapist and come to terms with his life so he can be a better father and husband. He should have also been honest with his family and friends about why he quit a sport he was passionate about so they could understand and be his support system.

This makes melodramatic stories that people love. But it also sends the wrong message about what is really needed in relationships. In the end Arjun and everyone around him suffered because of it.

Originally posted by: SmittenKitten

I undoubtedly love Shahid as an actor and think he's a fab dancer too. He always delivers even when he's a part of stupid movies, so I have no doubts he's gonna nail his role in Jersey.

I just didn't know it was a tragic movie ..... was never a fan of the hero dying at the end and while I can be tricked into watching them if I don't know the story ahead of time, it is a major dampener if I already know they're gonna die at the end. 😆

I also can't bring myself to appreciate someone who can't settle for anything other than "the one and only" thing that keeps them alive ... and that's what the character sounded like in the review. If he chooses to fulfill his or his son's desire knowing that the tradeoff is his life, I don't think he's setting a heroic example. .... but hey, i might give it a shot though cuz decently made movies are already few and far between, and it might not be as grim/black and white as I made it out to be in my previous post.

That’s a good enough reason for me because I am absolutely DONE with OTT. 😆

Originally posted by: catchmeifucan

That’s a good enough reason for me because I am absolutely DONE with OTT. 😆

I'm absolutely done with the pandemic altogether .... 😆 but it seems to keep rearing its ugly head with a new face every six months. Absolutely done with everything pandemic related including watching OTT bollywood movies that are clearly made for big screens ... kills the whole moviegoing experience too.