BLUE STAR
Cert 12A
166 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong language, moderate violence, injury detail
I love cricket and one of my favourite moments playing sport was when I caught the ball off my son's bowling for our local team.
Therefore, I understand the passion the game can generate and was fully plugged into S. Jayakumar's Blue Star.
His film revolves around cricket offering lower-class young men from a poor village an opportunity to break into the big time.
However, the team's obstacles are almost insurmountable - from their own rivalries with each other to the prejudice from the middle-class administrators and players.
The unsmiling Ashok Selvan is Ranjith, the petulant but talented captain of an enthusiastic team with only three or four good players.
His sworn enemy is Rajesh (Shanthanu Bhagyaraj) who leads a squad who are slightly more privileged and competent.
The first half of the picture focuses on their animosity, with the only relief being the romantic interludes between Ranjith and his clandestine love, Anandhi (Keerthi Pandian).
Blue Star swerves in the more interesting second half when the opponents realise they may have to pool resources to find respect among snooty cricketers at a higher level.
The movie crystallises caste discrimination through cricket as the pressures on the players are significant from all sides.
Will their hearts win the day or will they capitulate to centuries-old tradition and can the villagers really beat the semi-professional cricketers?
We all know the answers but how they arrive at the conclusion is worth watching, especially for fans of the sport.
Reasons to watch: Shows the intensity of sport
Reasons to avoid: If you don't get cricket
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Did you know? In India, there are about three million registered cricketers, 300,000 cricket matches scored, 19,000+ tournaments and 2,000+ locations. There are many more unregistered cricketers and games.
The final word. S. Jayakumar: "My childhood was filled with playing cricket and each of the Blue Star characters is inspired by people around me and the matches we played. The character Ranjith (played by Ashok Selvan) is slightly based on my brother, who is also a cricketer." OTT Play