Striker (2010)

Perfect cast and a good story

Excellent but underrated film

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Striker is the story of a Marathi boy growing in the rough slums of Malvani under the shadow of the Islamic mafia.Chandrakant,a good looking young man grows up playing carrom in the clubs of Malvani --- a slum area of Bombay ---as Mumbai was known at that time........much of the film is in flashback mode.Of course ,the key to playing carrom is the ability to hit the disks accurately with the STRIKER.........AND Chandrakant knows how to do this with deadly effect.The Muslim don who controls malvani ,Jaleel Bhai ( played by Aditya Pancholi )wants him to play for his clubs by betting money on him ,but Chandrakant refuses the temptation.But he is in bad company of his wayward Muslim friend Zahid .......who lures him to the don's clubs.But Zahid's murder prompts Chandu to break free from the don's influence......until the two are destined to confront each other in the post Babri riots.....The life ,and the dangers and pitfalls of growing up in a typical slum area of Mumbai are certainly shown well in the film.The atmosphere of the slum is authentically picturised.The end is a bit disappointing though ,as it comes too fast.But Ankur Vikal truly shines in the role of Chandu's friend Zahid , which he has played with rare spontaneity .All in all ,a watchable film.

Striker is based in Malvani a suburb in Mumbai and depicts the life of Surya, an excellent carom player belonging to middle class Indian family. The story revolves around Mumbai riots of 1992 and moves back and forth in time. The story captures the betting in carom games by a local goon Jaleel played by Aditya Pancholi. Surya is a common young boy and aspires to go to Dubai and make some quick bucks so that monetary pressure on his elder brother Chandra(Anup Soni) is relieved but he gets duped and loses money. In order to recover that money he starts playing carom for money and then gets indulged in some scam with his friend Zaid. The movie has very good screenplay and dialogues are brilliant. Siddarth portrays his character with absolute conviction and traits of a good actor are truly visible in him. Besides him all actors have played their roles to perfection with special mention of Vidya Malvade and Anup Soni. Music is other good point in this film and Cham Cham by Sonu Nigam is high point. Do watch this movie for a meaningful cinema and especially the movie relates to a common Indian at many levels and the Director Chandan Arora has done a brilliant job and given an awesome treatment to the movie. Watch the movie for exceptional performances and exciting story

Its December 1992 and curfew time in Malvani, Mumbai's north western suburb when Suryakant Sarang aka Surya (Siddharth) arrives back in Mumbai from an out of town trip. Communal riots have broken out in the area mostly dominated by Muslims.Surya is stopped by the police, headed by local in charge Faroukh (Anupam Kher). But Surya is restless after he comes to know his family members have fallen prey to the riots.From hereon the narrative alternates between the flash back and current scenario mode.It narrates the tale of how Surya, a lower middle class boy, the youngest of the three siblings rises to become an ace carrom champion in the carrom betting syndicate headed by spearheaded by Jalil (Pancholi).Surya and Jalil keep crossing paths as Jalil desperately wants him to play under him. But Surya nurses a childhood grudge against him. Making matters more complicated is Surya's childhood buddy Zaid (Ankur) who is working under Zaid.Editor turned director Chandan Arora (Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hun, Main, Meri Patni Aur Who) has always narrated character based tales and this time with through the eyes of an extremely well written central character he has showcased a never before exposed on Indian screen, the betting underbelly.The carrom game sequences are fantastically shot what with real carrom champs used. Making them more entertaining is the sledging running commentary by the bystanders.Vijay Maurya and Pankaj Saraswat's dialogues are sufficiently spicy. The camera-work enhances the edgy mood of the film. Sound design is excellent too.Songs are not lip synced and don't act as speed breakers but carry the story forward. In fact even Siddharth has sung a song in the film.Siddharth is nothing short of excellent in the film. Exhibiting a cute boyish charm he is very real and vulnerable at the same time. His splendid carrom playing skills are in full display in the film.Aditya Pancholi with amazing screen presence exudes scare whenever he appears on screen. Ankur Vikal is perfectly cast as Siddharth's druggie best friend.Vidya Malvade gets few scenes but she manages to leave an impression. Playing a fisherwoman running the local dingy bar, newcomer Padmapriya resembling Tabu is wonderful and is extremely expressive.Anup Soni, Anupam Kher and Seema Biswas are good as usual. Nicolette as Siddharth's first crush is good too.Chandan Arora's Striker works for the fact that it actually narrates a never seen before story as also for its authentic setting and excellent acting. Do not give it a miss.

I had seen Chandan Arora's Mein Madhuri Dikshit banna chahti huu when it had released and I was much impressed with the simplicity with which the director had handled the story. Then came the acclaimed Mein, meri patni aur woh which again got rave reviews, but I haven't watched it yet.After Striker, I am sure, I am not going to miss any of his movies. The movie has a great ensemble of young & emerging as well as some veteran actors who all flawlessly do justice to their respective characters. The cinematography is superb and takes the audience right inside Mumbai's darkest alleys! The dialogues are delightfully crisp and witty. These are the factors which carries the film forward and even manages to cover up the (very few) glitches in the storyline...If I have to dig for some complaints, it would be the background score, which fails to use the beautiful songs in the soundtrack to the fullest extent, the second love story which was a little too "convenient", and a script which kind of loses track in the second half. But none of these in anyway affect the end product to a great extent. Some audience may even fail to notice them! Siddarth plays protagonist, Surya and is overwhelming as the confident, blessed carrom player. He exudes charm as the boy next door where it's required and is just brilliant when he has to emote in the final few scenes of the movie.While the other actors - Vidya Malvade, Pancholi (as the menacing local goon), Anupam Kher, Seema Biswas are all great in portraying their roles, it is Ankur Vikal (Slumdog Millionaire's Baban), playing Surya's best friend Zaid who steals the show. He plays the ever enthusiastic drug dealer to the best and even manages to overshadow Siddarth's performance is some scenes.Watch Striker for the performances and realism with which the movie carries itself. Highly recommended!