Penalty Movie Review: A Thought-Provoking Tale!

Directed by Shubham Singh, Penalty movie stars Lukram Smil in the lead role with Shashank Arora and Manjot Singh as the supporting cast, and Kay Kay Menon in a special appearance. Exploring an uplifting story of an aspiring football player from Manipur, the storyline of Penalty kicks off with Lukram joining a graduation college in Lucknow, which is known for training National level players for the past decade.

In hopes to make it big at the sport, Lukram begins training on a positive note but gets distracted to quite a few obstacles. The remainder of the movie showcases how he tries to pick himself up and work towards his dream of representing India at the National level. Penalty Movie Penalty Movie Review

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On to the discussion, the storyline of Penalty is pure and straightforward, to begin with. It manages to take a few turns at regular intervals to keep the movie compelling and do not completely bury itself in the trenches of predictability. The entire setting presents you with that indie movie vibe and the simplistic production design, and the serene camera shots at the countryside of Manipur blends in flawlessly with the narrative. The movie also successfully paced itself as it did not feel mundane to watch from start to finish. However, the romantic angle did feel like a slight distraction from the primary storyline of the film. Penalty Movie Penalty Movie Review

Furthermore, about the simplistic setting of Penalty, the story do not and does not have to put out a show that is too overwhelming to the viewer. However, it decently tells a moderately motivating tale of a small-town athlete, the story of an underdog, and at the same time focuses on the racism the North-Eastern people endure on a daily basis. The director of the film, Shubham Singh effectively navigates through all these aspects of his movie and also keeps it entertaining with a few funny scenes here and there. Penalty Movie Penalty Movie Review

The performances from the cast were strong all across the board. Kay Kay Menon in his strict headmaster-type character impresses every time he is on-screen. Shashank Arora and Manjot Singh shine bright in their roles as the supporters and comrades of the lead star, and a special shout out goes to Ashwin Kaushal for his amusing body language and mannerisms. Above all, Lukram Smil, the primary protagonist, excels and carries the film forward solidly. His simple look, accent, and the subtle expressions made his character and the film look fresh compared to the mainstream nonsense Bollywood produces all year long.

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Overall, there is nothing more left to write about Penalty as it as a light-hearted, thought-provoking film that does not need to be dissected from top to bottom. It suits perfectly for a casual evening watch on any given day, and with the ongoing trend of boycotting mainstream and star kids projects, movies like this require your time and attention for changes to take place within the industry. Watch ‘Penalty Movie’ on Netflix here.

Rating – 3/5 | Grade – B

Images via Tenzanite Pictures