Striker Movie + Member Reviews

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Posted: 16 years ago

Members living outside of India can watch the full movie on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5f-jUpUp8o

Striker Movie Review
February 6, 2010 12:29:41 PM IST By Martin D'Souza, Bollywood Trade News Network


	view STRIKER movie stills

STRIKER stikes a chord for two overwhelming performances. One by a lesser-known actor named Ankur Vikal who plays Zayed and another by Aditya Pancholi who plays Jaleel. Take these two out and STRIKER will fall flat. The movie has a unique concept by way of a lesser know sport carrom, but dilutes it with the backdrop of the riots of 1992.

It is not clear where Surya (Siddharth) is coming from at the start of the film, and how his sister and her husband are killed in the riots when they live in Bangalore. If he is coming somewhere from within India it should be clear to him that there are riots in Bombay. This fact has not registered since it shows him asking a taxi driver to take him to Malvani, the place where he lives and where the entire movie is set. With the plot distorted in the very first frame, it becomes difficult to piece the script together. Another error is that Jaleel, even after 15 years, looks the same, with not a hair out of place, while Surya has grown and so has his elder brother, Chandrakant.

It then moves back and forth, stitching the life of Surya and his rise as a carrom player of repute. It shows in flashback his family, his childhood friend Zayed, and their dreams to make it big. Director Chandan Arora must be lauded for the detailing, both of the clothes, during the seventies as well, and the setting. It sucks you into the life lived in a chawl. Even the balcony romance is something that most will identify with.

Surya is introduced to carrom by his elder brother who quits playing after he loses a heavy bet with local goon, Jaleel. Surya goes on to become the National champion and soon forgets the game in his quest to make it big in life. He wants to work in Dubai and in the process is duped by a local agency. Zayed gets him back on track to earn money the quick way by betting on carrom games. Reluctant at first, the lure of the lucre soon draws Surya to the betting addas. Zayed, who too nurses a dream of making it big, but by playing a double game with two dangerous goons, plays the go-between.

Ankur Vikal is a revelation. Playing a buddy with a heart of gold, but whose idea of gathering wealth is distorted, he puts life into the character. You want to love him as well as hate him. A perfect 10 where character execution, dialogue and diction is concerned. As for Aditya Pancholi, the man delivers a mature performance as the dreaded Jaleel.

Siddharth as Surya fits into the common man mould but at times tries hard to be the part unlike Ankur and Aditya.

If only for its off-beat treatment and detailing, of childhood buddies and dreams, and subtle romance, this movie is worth a watch. There's no gloss, but lots of substance.

Rating - 2.5/5

Source: https://www.glamsham.com/movies/reviews/06-striker-movie-review-021001.asp

Edited by xChandnix - 16 years ago

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Posted: 16 years ago

'Striker' Review - 'Striker' Movie Review

Last Updated: 2010-02-06T18:36:16+05:30

'Striker' Review - 'Striker' Movie Review

Siddharth And Aditya Pancholi

Director: Chandan Arora

Star Cast: Siddharath, Aditya Pancholi, Anupam Kher, Seema Biswas, Ankur Vikal, Nicollete Bird

'Striker' is another Bollywood tale of an innocent man being driven into the puddle of money-making. The movie is the story of Surya (Siddharth) who happens to be extremely talented carom player. But owing to the circumstances, Siddharth had to give up the passion and move on the conventional path to be the bread-earner for the family. The movie oscillates between the past and present and one gets to see Surya's childhood and youth simultaneously.

Surya reaches Mumbai after his out of town trip and finds himself in an environment of communal riot. Surya is stopped by the police official, Faroukh (Anupam Kher). He gets trapped in the course of movie and eventually loses all the money that he had collected to go to Dubai. It is at this stage that he is re-introduced to carom but this time it is not just a game. He plays carom for gambling and stands face to face with the dreadful gangster, Jaleel (Aditya Pancholi) whom he hates since his childhood. He had always tried to keep away from Jaleel and his wickedness but ultimately finds himself standing in front of him.

The movie is made with the best of intentions and with a sensible theme. Dialogues are crisp and powerful. Like any other Bollywood movie, 'Striker' too has a love plot which never finds scope to grow fully. Noorie (Nicolette Bird), the love life of Surya gives a fresh impact to the audience. Friendship shared between Surya and Zaid (Ankur Vikal) is commendable and forms one of the main veins of the story.

Producer-director Chandan Arora makes a fruitful attempt in story telling technique and manages to keep the audience watching. However, at times the plot weakens and tends to confuse the audience with the introduction of sub-plots. Songs are pleasant to ear and contributes to the progress of the movie.

Coming to the actors, Siddharth poses a natural acting and shows his capability to shoulder a Bollywood movie on his shoulder. His work is highly appreciable and succeeds in maintaining the 'Rang De Basanti' magic. Nicolette Bird is pretty but finds no chance to show her acting skill. Anupam Kher and Aditya Pancholi show themselves to be experienced actors. Ankur Vikal, Anup Soni, Seema Biswas and Padmapriya suit their role perfectly.

Though the acting and plot of the movie is good, it fails to leave an unforgettable impact. Probably this is due to the lack of a well-written script. Again, the movie will be acceptable only to limited audience, leave alone the weak hearts. One may feel the smoky atmosphere of the movie repulsive.

To sum up, 'Striker' is a one-time watch for sure but whether it will strike or not is up to you!

Source: https://www.india-server.com/news/striker-review-striker-movie-review-20672.html

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Posted: 16 years ago

MUMBAI, INDIA (GaeaTimes.com)- Chandan Arora proved that he wants to make something different from typical Hindi potboilers when his first film titled 'Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon' was released a few years back. He followed it up with the critically acclaimed 'Main, Meri Patni Aur Who'. His latest movie Striker lives up to the expectation though it leaves behind a taste of disappointment in the end. The movie reviews are encouraging so far and everyone admits the southern sensation Siddharth has done a good job in the flick. He went into sort of an exile after the brilliant RDB that had sent the nation into a tizzy.

Striker is a movie about Surya, a poor boy with interest in playing carom. He gets into the nexus of Jaleel Bhai, a don who runs the Malwani gambling rackets. The role of the goon has been played to perfection by actor Aditya Pancholi. Surya tries to steer clear of gambling, but as luck would have it, he gets into a game where he plays against money. This leads to complications which end in violence and destruction. The cinematography is brilliant in the movie and it brings alive the murky suburbs of Mumbai city.

The reviewers feel that the screenplay could have been a little tauter but the movie has a gritty storyline. While Siddharth delivers a credible performance it is Ankur Vikal who steals the show. He plays a friend to Surya in this film. It is too early to say how Striker will fare at the box office. Nevertheless it makes a fine DVD watch.

Source: http://blog.taragana.com/e/2010/02/06/striker-movie-review-88146/

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Posted: 16 years ago

BY: Aparajita Ghosh

RATING: 2.5/5

Imagine playing the right strikes without ever being able to hole the queen! That what Chandan Arora's movie Striker is. It has many things going for it - a fresh coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of communal tension in the suburbs of the 1990s and 80s Mumbai, a talented starcast helmed by none other than Siddharth (he of Rang De Basanti fame), a few deftly directed sequences, excellent camerawork and soulful melodies.

Yet, none of these assorted parts mesh in to make one organic, seamless whole that could grip you by the gut for the two hours of the movie's running time. The culprit here is screenplay which hops so much to and fro in time and from one subplot to another, etching out the twenty years of the protagonist's life less ordinary, that the impact dilutes in the non-linearity which at times seems too adamantly adopted by the director to defy the norm. The result is a film that works in bits and parts but the whole turns out to be less than the sum of its parts.

'Striker' tells the story of a poor lad Surya (Siddharth) who grows up in the squalid and shanty underbelly of Malwani, on the suburbs of Mumbai. He has prodigious talent for carrom, a game he loves from the heart and to which he returns after the unfortunate and cruel knocks of life leave him penniless.

The story tracks Surya's life through different time periods, unravelling his struggle to make a living, his crush on his Muslim neighbour Noorie (Nicolette Bird), his brush with the world of criminals and his bonhomie with his coke-snorting buddy Zaid (Ankur Vikal) who convinces Surya to bank on his strength at playing carrom by becoming the top striker in the gambling dens, thereby leading to Surya's eventual showdown with the local ganglord Jaleel (Aditya Pancholi).

Director Chandan Arora sure has an eye for details which he shows in the authentic creation of the Mumbai's underbelly, but as a co-writer of 'Striker' he leaves many portions raw and rusty. Some characters, like the cop (Anupam Kher), or the fisherwoman (Padmapriya) or even Surya's crush (Nicolette) are only perfunctorily fleshed out. However, some of the sequences really work well. For instance, the opening reels when Siddharth runs into the rioting Hindu fanatics and angry Muslim mob on his way through the communally flared up Mumbai suburb in December 1992.

Performances by almost everyone are pretty commendable but it is Siddharth who stands above all and shoulders the film without ever letting his character become larger than life. Kudos to him and we wish to see more of him in Bollywood.

'Striker' isn't a bad film to mark his return after 'Rang De Basaanti' four years ago, but with its jumbled up screenplay and a few unnecessary subplots, the movie turns out to be more of a missed opportunity.

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Source: https://www.apunkachoice.com/titles/str/striker/mid_30027/reviews-editor/

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Posted: 16 years ago

Set in a Mumbai ghetto in the mid '80's and based on true life accounts, Striker is a story of triumph of human spirit over indomitable odds.

Born into a poor family, Surya grows up with few luxuries. Poor health keeps him away from school often and that is when his elder brother, Chandrakant, introduces him to carrom.

Quite similar to pool in its concept, carrom is common among people from middle and lower income groups all over India. Precision and skill are vital to playing the game well; attitude and confidence are crucial to win. The underground carrom scene has been breeding hustlers and gamblers for many years.

Winning the Junior Carrom Championship at 12 is not enough to keep Surya's fire for the sport burning through adolescence. Hopes for a job in Dubai, replaces the passion for carrom as Surya grows into a young man.

Duped by a bogus overseas employment agency, Surya loses all his hard earned money he had saved for going to Dubai. Surya is forced to cross paths with Jaleel.

Since the 70's when the settlements in the ghetto began, Jaleel had acquired a strong hold in the area. He had his hands in every illicit activity since then. Feeding on the weaknesses of people, Jaleel was the self-proclaimed king of Malwani.

Reintroduced to Carrom by his childhood friend Zaid, this time to the hustling scene, Surya starts playing again. Being gypped of his hand earned money by the same man who had caused misery for many families; Surya decides to take on Jaleel on his turf.

His patience and cool attitude are Surya's biggest strengths. But life has ways of testing even the strong.

Striker is not a film about good versus evil. It is the story of a friendship, life in the city of dreams in the 80's, a story of a game that is most common but non-existent. A story of a Carrom player who grows up on the fringes of a criminal existence but does not succumb to it.

Striker review by Taran Adarsh

Chandan Arora's choice of the story is right, but the erratic screenplay writing will cost him dear. However, there's no denying that he has handled a number of individualistic scenes well. The music [multiple music composers] is soothing. P.S. Vinod's cinematography is perfect.

Siddharth is as natural as natural can be. He is superb. Aditya Pancholi looks noxious and enacts his part just too wonderfully. Anupam Kher does an okay job, partly because his character is not well-defined. Padma Priya looks confident. Ankur Vikal does very well. Seema Biswas gets into the skin of the character. Vidya Malvade doesn't get much scope. Anoop Soni is perfect. The actress playing Noorie is passable.

On the whole, STRIKER lacks a solid script to strike a chord.

Source: http://www.bharatbytes.com/2010/02/striker-movie-review/

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Posted: 16 years ago

What? why is this movie available on youtube? Aren't the producers aware of this? Don't they want to make money?

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Posted: 16 years ago

Originally posted by: rever
What? why is this movie available on youtube? Aren't the producers aware of this? Don't they want to make money?

It's available on youtube for $4.99 in the US.

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Originally posted by: rever
What? why is this movie available on youtube? Aren't the producers aware of this? Don't they want to make money?

It is on YT by Studio18, which is the production company of the movie. First movie to come out on YT on the same day it released in theaters. In a way, if you think about it the movie may not make a lot of money overseas, but by posting it on YT it reduces the likelihood of people posting the movie online (by creating other YT accounts). That is everyone living outside of India can watch it online on YT, while ones in India have the option of theater.

Edited by salt - 16 years ago