Love All, Review: Goodbye badminton, Hello badminton

No, it’s not about love as is depicted in Hindustani films. And it certainly does not propagate the noble axiom, Love All. The ‘love’ here is derived from the French, l’oeuf, which means an egg, but is pronounced very nearly like love. Since the score 0 (zero) in games like tennis and badminton is the starting point for the players, these games begin with Love All. After a dozen films on cricket, footfall, hockey, sprinting, and what have you, the badminton court remained untapped. The makers of Love All have chosen badminton as their game, and interwoven an interesting story, much like the strings of the badminton racquet.

In 1982, Olympian Aslam Sher Khan penned a memoir and called it ‘To Hell with Hockey’. No marks for guessing the colour of the contents. Looks like writer-director Sudhanshu Sharma has been inspired by that account, and Love All moves from early glory to revulsion towards badminton to rediscovering the game through the next generation to crowning glory. The last chapter follows the genre in true spirit. It would take a lion-heart to break that mould and have a climax which does not pit one against another, and the underdog does not come back from being nearly vanquished to emerge as numero uno.

A grim and bitter looking Sidhharth Sharma moves to Bhopal from some other posting in the Railways, along with his wife and young son, Aditya. He is a technical person, probably a Mechanical Engineer. Although from Bhopal, he had gone away and stayed away from this city for many years. He is spotted by one of his closest friends, Viju, who runs a sports goods shop called Champion Sports. It is so named because Sidhharth Sharma was a badminton champion, until a vicious attack on his leg by a motor-cycle gang put paid to all his hopes of making it big. He has no father and his mother cannot afford the cost of the operation, which might give him a chance to make a come-back. For someone who had trained his eyes on the Olympics, the predicament is too much to bear, and he leaves Bhopal.

Though he has shut–out all sport from his psyche, kept his sporting past hidden from his wife, and imposed this diktat on his young son too, destiny wills otherwise. When his mother takes Aditya for admission to a popular school, the teacher in-charge of admissions, Suma, asks them to fill in the form, at the end of which, they have to choose a sport of their choice. The mother calls the sports-hating Sidhharth, and he says, not unexpectedly, that there is no need to choose any sport. They will, instead, choose another school, where sport is not compulsory. The mother, nevertheless, agrees to the idea. The teacher has a word with the sports teacher, on the phone, and tells the mother and son that only badminton is available as an option. She fills in badminton. Thus begins the secret training of Aditya, who is completely unaware of his father’s standing in the sport, and his achievements before Aditya’s birth.

Compliments are due to story writer-director Sudhanshu Sharma for moving away from the beaten track and instilling the narrative with interesting twists. He shares the screenplay and dialogue credit with Sonal. Sudhanshu also made Kalichaat, around the same time as Love All. On the centre court, he springs a pleasant surprise in the school admission scene. The graphic illustration of the badminton shots in the final match is striking. Timely producing of Passport, Aadhaar Card and PAN Card, as proofs of age, when challenged by falsifiers, are a tour de force. By using the punch twice, once in passing and the second time in full focus, Sudhanshu reduces the impact of the punch, but only a little. On the other court, there are a few volleys that he is not able to negotiate.

The character of Siddharth’s neighbour, another Sharma, is not well-developed, and, at times, seems redundant. By contrast, the old-time friend Viju is given too much footage, though Sidhharth gives him only a token acknowledgement when they first meet. Was there nobody in the whole city that Siddharth could meet or relate to? He does not interact with anyone. When did he leave Bhopal? At what age? Apparently, he was a teenager when the hit-and-run case occurred, and put-paid to his badminton aspirations. So, where did he learn mastery of the game, including aspects like stringing a racquet, and various ways of practicing and training.

What about his mother? What about his sweet-heart? Why does he not maintain any contact with her for decades. How does he manage to keep his sporting past a secret from his wife for 10-20 years? When she bluffs him on 2-3 occasions, albeit with noble intentions, he does not bat an eyelid. Why does the politician/badminton patron, who is the Secretary of the Association, have to have a grandson as the de facto champion, and to whom Aditya poses a threat? Sidhharth unlocks the gate of the old stadium, with the obvious purpose of meeting an old stadium attendant, Baba, who is known to spend all his time inside. But since the door was locked, he could not have been inside. Suddenly, afterwards, with a cut, the director shows the man offering tea to Siddharth and having a glass himself, inside the stadium. The side-track of Siddharth working at the railway workshop is created effectively, but does not contribute to the narrative, till almost the climax, when your heart beats for Siddharth and his guest, sitting in a railway coach. Filmed in 2018, with references to 2017, Love All gets a release five years later, and Covid must take part of the blame, if not all.

Having reserved a position on screen as a hardened cop/investigating officer, it is a welcome break for Kay Kay Menon. Not often do you see tears in the eyes of Kay Kay. Though his character is a bit irrational, you enjoy watching him in this new incarnation. The father-son interactions are touching. Hope this is a harbinger of more such roles. Swastika Mukherjee makes a comely, plump Soma, the adult version of Siddharth’s teenage sweet-heart. She exudes the right kind of emotions, but falters a bit in the Hindi pronunciation. Shriswara, a ten-year veteran on screen (Section 375, Baaghi 3, Uma), as Sidhharth’s wife, is no stunner, but brings to the fore compassion and cleverness, alternately, as is demanded. Sumit Arora plays the over-the-top friend, not unlike many Punjabi shop-keepers. His character draws a lot of sympathy. Atul Srivastava is cast as the neighbour Sharma, and don’t we know a few of his types? A little over-board, but not out of character. Theatre veteran Raja Bundela is a surprise packet as the Secretary. He underplays a role that could do with a little arrogance and much more ego. Ark Jain as Aditya is a little raw and has a complex role. Overall, he does well.

The following names also feature in the cast: Satyakam Anand, Robin Das, Pravina Bhagwat Deshpande, Mazel Vyas and Deep Rambhiya. Background music by Debarpito Saha and songs by Saurabh Vaibhav are passable. Some rich lyrics (Ankit Pandey, Sonal) might go a-begging because the situations and picturisations are not commensurate. Raut Jaywant Murlidhar’s cameras needed to be placed at the sight spot at the right moment, to capture the thrill of the matches, and they did indeed choose the correct view. Editing by Aalaap Majgavkar and Raunak Phadnis is the heart of the film, especially in the match sequences. We see just enough of a player to register, and they cut to the other player. And the length of the film is manageable too, at 2 hours 10 minutes.

Love All should be seen till the end credits have finished rolling. There are a couple of scenes that have a message for the viewers.

It is a film worth watching, just to realise that with a nondescript unit and 40 days of shooting, a reasonable standard of output can be achieved.

Badminton players, who have, for some reason or the other, have said “Goodbye badminton”, might be inspired to say, “Hello badminton.” Even some non-players might be prompted to grab a racquet, and create a racket…on the badminton court, of course.

Rating: ** ½

Trailer: https://youtu.be/IleX8QX5Uyw