Review: Treat your pals to 'Shuttlecock Boys' on Friendship’s Day

Film: Shuttlecock Boys
Director: Hemant Gaba
Cast: Vijay Prateek, Aakar Kaushik, Alok Kumar, Manish Nanwani
Rating: ***

When India was mourning the loss of our Olympic gold medal hope Saina Nehwal to China’s Wang Yihaan in the badminton semi-finals, I was watching four strikingly ordinary Delhi boys serving and getting served in a dingy Delhi gully.

Shuttlecock Boys is a tale of seemingly loser friends, Gaurav (Vijay Prateek), Manav (Aakar Kaushik), Pankaj (Alok Kumar) and Loveleen (Manish Nanwani) and their unwilling, middle class aspirations of entrepreneurship to fulfil modest dreams.

When cook Manav loses his job because his restaurant shuts down, Gaurav is insulted for selling credit cards as his peers climb corporate ladders and Pankaj realises he’s not cut out to become a chartered accountant, an idea clicks. Gaurav suggests they start a catering business using individual strengths. After initial resistance, each of them contributes to the start-up where they supply food to call centres.

The journey of these inexperienced and more or less unprofessional entrepreneurs is riddled with personal crisis, lack of capital, parental interference and mostly expectations they aren’t equipped to meet. Director Hemant Gaba’s attempt is heartfelt and genuine, so are his characters. You can identify with their effortless camaraderie and unlucky reality.

In 2009 an equally charming Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year starring Ranbir Kapoor silently came and went out of theatres. Shamefully enough I watched it at one go only last year. There can’t be comparisons in terms of aesthetics and overall awesomeness that the gem Rocket Singh is, but Gaba’s Shuttlecock Boys surely puts a smile on your face. It’s no doubt predictable, but also flushes within you a sense of triumph, that of winning a match point against a lofty opponent.

There are bits that seem a bit too good to be true: jumping on a whim to start a business, four inexperienced boys cooking for 250 employees, Pankaj’s father’s temporary outburst, Loveleen’s ‘keep the watch’ moment with an auto driver. The imagery also falls prey to the small budget.

All these notwithstanding, Shuttlecock Boys is a winner of a film. Certainly a good way to celebrate Friendship’s Day.

The film releases in select PVR cinemas:
Delhi NCR:
            PVR Director’s Cut, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj: 9.15 pm
            PVR MGF, MGF Mall, Gurgaon: 10.10 am
            PVR Naraina, Naraina: 3.55 pm
 
Mumbai:
            PVR Goregaon: 6.15 pm
            PVR Phoenix: 9.00 pm
            PVR Juhu: 8.55 pm