After a significant time away from the silverscreen, R Madhavan is back with the sports drama Saala Khadoos. He is back with his 3 Idiots director Rajkumar Hirani, now in the shoes of a producer. Ritika Singh gets her big break in Bollywood. Let's see what critics think of the movie
Film: Saala Khadoos
Cast: R Madhavan, Ritika Singh, Zakir Khan,
1. The Hindu - Unable to rise above predictability
The trailer of Saala Khadoos made one fear the worst; the template -- a disgraced coach finding redemption in the success of his protégé -- seemed an instant throwback to Chak De India, as did the running theme of corruption in sports officialdom. Saala Khadoos does deal with both the issues; only the game here happens to be boxing, and not hockey. Having said that, the opening sequence, high on energy and drama, holds the promise that the film might just have a voice and mind of its own. Unfortunately, it proves to be a short-lived assurance. Read more here
2. Hindustan Times - Watch it for Madhavan’s towering performance
With Saala Khadoos, we have India’s answer to Million Dollar Baby – the tale of a mercurial boxing coach who aims to turn an uncouth, foul-mouthed but truly talented girl into a champion. The Clint Eastwood film earned acclaim and Oscars, Sudha Kongara Prasad’s film will probably not reach that pinnacle. Read more here
3. First Post - Madhavan delivers a knockout performance in an otherwise average film
In Saala Khadoos, director Sudha Kongara Prasad gives us an unusual film, where the stereotypical character of the boxing coach meets his match when he picks up a foul-mouthed uncouth boxer for training into championship. There is nothing in the plot to suggest even a whiff of the unexpected. If you’ve seen the gruff Clint Eastwood barking at his protégée Hillary Swank in Million Dollar Baby, you would know where the inspiration for Sudha Kongara Prasad’s film comes from. Or for that matter, the under-developed relationship between boxing coach Sunil Thapa and his fiery protégée, Priyanka Chopra in Mary Kom. Read more here
4. Bollywoodlife.com - R Madhavan and Ritika Singh’s honest performances saves the film from being a complete WASHOUT!
Saala Khadoos could have been a decent sports drama, if it had the touch of a master storyteller like Shimit Amin. Sadly, it turns out to be neither as memorable as Chak De India, nor as inspiring as Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom. At best, Saala Khadoos is a strictly average affair! Watch it only for the performances of the lead actors! Read more here
5. Scroll.in - ‘Saala Khadoos’ is a May-December boxing romance
Sudha Kongara’s second movie after the Tamil Drohi is as subtle as an uppercut. The bilingual drama (also made in Tamil as Irudhi Suttru) takes an inherently dramatic sport – boxing – and burdens it even further with heavy emotions, plot twists, tears, redundant songs and a loud and insistent background score. The movie is unnecessarily overblown but also curiously affecting due to the knockout performances of real-life fighter and debutant actor Ritika Singh and Mumtaz Sorcar as her elder sister. Read more here
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