Jersey :-
Starting from Yevade Subramanyam to MCA, Nani had 8 consecutive hits. However his last 2 outings with Krishnarjuna Yuddham and Devadasu weren't successfull. This time Nani has paired up with new director Gowtham ("Malli Raava" fame) for sports based movie "Jersey".
Story :-
As evident from the trailer, once a successful cricketer had to leave his cricketing career due to unavoidable circumstances and starts his family life. As a failed individual and husband, he loses his respect from everyone, in order to not loose his respect in front of his son, he wants to take up cricket again. How far does he succeeded in the 2nd innings and why did he leave cricket firstly forms the story.
Performances :-
Nani gave one of his best performances of his career. He played it subtle yet emotional which is not easy to portray. Shraddha Srinath brings freshness to screen being a debut, though she is familiar to whoever watched Vikram-Vedha (Madhavan-Vijay Sethupati blockbuster). Thought Sharddha didn't portray the emotional struggle well, may be Nivetha Thomas would have been a better option. Kid who played Nani's son was cute and natural. Satyaraj as a backbone for the lead character is sincere.
Technicians :-
Director Gowtham sticked to the basic plot without diluting it with commercial elements. He conveyed emotional and conflicting points effectively. Did not waste time and money for songs, sets etc., which is a good thing. Dialogues were crisp. Cinematography is good with realistic and shuttle colours, costumes are special mention as they were very real and natural. Cast was limited but effective. Background score and songs of Anirudh were soothing.
Positives :-
Nani's performance
Father-Son bonding
Husband-Wife conflict
Screenplay
Dialogues
Negatives :-
Slow pace
One man show in cricket matches
Analysis :-
Journey of an aspiring cricketer's life, highs and lows, love and pain, hope and rise has been captured well in Jersey. Climax of the movie reveals an hidden secret which is an interesting crucial point of the story. All performances are neat and apt. Thought cricket matches in second half should have been more engaging and team game rather than one man show of Nani, to be more believable and realistic.
Rating :- 3/5 (Watch it for Nani and Story)
