Rating : 3.8/5
Genre : Drama
Year : 2020
Running time : 2 hours 10 minutes
Director : Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Cast : Kangana Ranaut, Jassi Gill, Neena Gupta, Richa Chaddha
Kid rating : G
Panga is about ex-kabaddi player and National Champion Jaya Nigam (Kangana Ranaut) who has quit the sport for a family life and a government job. The feeling of letting her accomplishments get away from her leads to dissatisfaction. When her son exhorts to participate in her sport again Jaya is forced to rethink her commitment to kabaddi.
Bollywood stories traditionally revolve around pyaar and it’s obstructions. The hero-heroine wed in a society-ordained shaadi is where the film ends. Few commercial movies look into the happily-ever-after phase, especially from the woman’s point of view. So Panga is unique in that sense – it is Jaya’s life we are focussed on, her feelings and her self-worth that have been subsumed in the incessant routines of domesticity and motherhood.
Panga does its job well, because it gives Jaya a voice. When she is encouraged to reenter the sport, she scoffs at the outlandish suggestion, and the idea that her family will put their money where their mouth is and bear the brunt of her “second shift”. Kangana is a marvelous actress so she is impeccable in this role. But it was also lovely to see her husband rise to the occasion, and support her; I hope Punjabi actor Jassi Gill does more Hindi films
The wonderful thing about Panga is that its characters feel full-fledged, from her mother (Neena Gupta) who supports Jaya but also has her own issues with her choices, to her friend Meenu (Richa Chaddha) who is there for her every step of the way. Jaya herself is so beautifully drawn, torn between the love for her family and her passion for the sport.
Director Tiwari, who also directed the lovely Nil Batte Sannata, helms Panga skillfully. The wonderful cast – Ranaut, Gill, Chadda and Gupta make this feel-good film an absolute must-watch.
Kidwise: Clean and family-friendly
