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By Taran
Adarsh, March 30, 2007 - 13:53 IST
Sometimes, small films [in terms of budget, setting,
face-value] speak louder than big films. SAY SALAAM
INDIA is one such film!
 Sports-based themes aren’t new to Hindi movies,
although they haven’t been attempted frequently. In
the recent past, JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDAR and LAGAAN and
more recently, IQBAL and HATTRICK made an effort to
club a sport and story in those two hours.
On face-value, the expectations from SAY SALAAM INDIA
are zilch because [a] There’s zero hype for the film
and [b] It abounds in first-timers. From its producers
to director to a majority of faces on the screen, SAY
SALAAM INDIA is their debut vehicle. But never judge a
book by its cover. This one is a truly well-made film!
SAY SALAAM INDIA reminds you of three films mainly --
JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDAR, LAGAAN and IQBAL. It’s about
the underdogs and the hardships they face when they
chase their dreams. It’s about the clash between the
haves and have-nots. And if you get the drama right in
such films, the viewer is forced to root for the
underdogs. That’s what happens here as well.
Yet, despite the merits, certain things are beyond
anyone’s control. The film’s release period seemed
appropriate till last week, but after India’s exit
from the World Cup and the dejection all around, a
‘cricket movie’ is a complete put-off.
Also, for any film to stand on its feet, it ought to
be promoted well. There has to be at least some
awareness. It’s important to make a good film, but
it’s equally important to ensure that it reaches out
to as many people as possible. In this case, the
promotion as well as awareness is missing.
To sum up, SAY SALAAM INDIA is an honest attempt, but
its fate at the ticket window is sealed for the
above-mentioned reasons.
 SAY SALAAM INDIA revolves around a group of four boys
and their passion for cricket. The boys come from
humble backgrounds and limited resources, but what
they have is a zeal for the game and undeniable
natural talent.
They study in the local school where the most
important sport on agenda is wrestling, taught by
Wrestling Guru Surinder Huda [Manoj Pahwa], a man
driven by hatred for cricket because in his eyes it is
cricket that is responsible for destroying traditional
sports like Kushti, Kabbadi and Hockey.
Hari Sadu [Sanjay Suri], a cricket fanatic, believes
that gully cricket is to be played with a similar
commitment as any other level of cricket. His new job
is to coach the Royal Heritage team [an elite school]
to win their sixth state championship, but the
headstrong, arrogant members of the school team are
more impressed with Sachin’s Ferrari than his batting
skills and hard work behind it.
This adds to the already simmering tension leading to
a final showdown where Hari Sadu is wrongly accused
and thrown out by the members of the school trust.
He’s replaced by Harry Oberoi [Milind Soman], who is
more of a suave fixer from the cricket world than a
coach, but suits the image and profile of the school.
Hari Sadu is determined to make a local team to take
on the cudgel at the inter-school challenge. How he
develops a cricketing eleven from the wrestling team
at the local school, overcoming various hurdles to
take on the Royal Heritage School at the inter-school
challenge, is the crux of the story.
 SAY SALAAM INDIA is Subhash Kapoor’s directorial debut
and you’ve to admire two things about the storyteller.
One, he has the courage to tell an honest story
without bowing down to market diktats and two, he says
it exceedingly well. Sure, there have been
cricket-centric movies and the benchmark is really
high, but Kapoor’s take is as convincing as those
films.
There’re points in the narrative that touch your
heart, sadden and gladden you later. There are
clap-trap moments as well, especially the penultimate
20-minute cricket match, and you end up being one of
the spectators rooting for the best team. That’s why
this movie works and works so beautifully.
On the flip side, the movie stagnates in the second
hour with a few repetitive and unwanted scenes. The
Sanjay Suri-Sandhya Mridul track, for instance, stands
out like a sore thumb. Also, the pace drops midway,
but picks up again in the climax.
There’s no scope for music in an enterprise like this,
but the tracks playing in the background [music:
Gaurav Dayal] are in sync with the mood of the film.
Special mention must be made of the background score –
Gaurav Dayal [effective], cinematography – Fasahat
Khan [appealing] and editing – M. Rafique [crisp].
The performances spring a pleasant surprise. Sanjay
Suri, a dependable actor, is in top form yet again.
It’s sad that film-makers haven’t woken up to this
talent yet. Milind Soman comes in much later and he
also pitches in a superior performance. Most
importantly, he fits the role to the T. But why this
bearded, untidy look, Milind?
 The film has a bunch of new characters, but the ones
who stand out are Aditya Seal [playing Siddharth, the
rich, spoilt brat], Mandhar Subhash [Viru] and Anuj
Pandit [Guri]. All three are excellent. Prateek Jain [Mahipal]
and Madhur Mittal [Shakeel] are alright. Manoj Pahwa
is fantastic yet again and provides ample laughs.
Sachin Khedekar is alright. Vinay Pathak gets limited
scope. Shraddha Nigam is effective. Sandhya Mridul is
wasted.
On the whole, SAY SALAAM INDIA is an honest attempt,
but is bogged down by the period of release. Also, the
poor promotion coupled with lack of face-value will
result in SAY SALAAM INDIA getting marginalized at the
ticket window.
Rating:- * *
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