Saina Review: A Live-Action Version of a Wikipedia Page!

Saina on Amazon Prime Video is yet another sports biopic that enables us to peep into the life of the World No. 1 ranked badminton player during the 2010s. The movie explores the sacrifices, trials, training, and commitment that a sport needs. The storyline of Saina on Amazon Prime Video revolves around the sports career of Nehwal and the significant phases of her humble yet celebrated life.

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On the critical side of things, one of the primary problems of Saina is that it is quickly paced for all the wrong reasons. Intended to tell a story that clearly doesn’t fit within 135 minutes, the plot gets messy and could’ve been better with some more meticulous editing by Deepa Bhatia. Saina looks good in bits and pieces, but it seems like a live-action version of Nehwal’s Wikipedia page.

Also, in Saina, the romance felt forced and more of a generic stereotypical approach that is similar to what we’ve seen in MS Dhoni: An Untold Story. And as a result, it fails to tell an engaging narrative and, at times, unpredictable. Amitosh Nagpal’s managed to write a few standout dialogues, but Amole Gupte’s writing was still a letdown.

On the director side of things, Amole Gupte, known for his feel-good films like Stanley Ka Dabba and Hawa Hawai, does a decent job inside and out. Amaal Mallik, the music director, composed yet another gem in Parinda, a song that can give you all the goosebumps and is the heart and soul of the film. But as an overall album, it was underwhelming to listen.

Parineeti Chopra, who we’ve last seen on Netflix India’s ‘The Girl on the Train,’ maintains her acting form in Saina and delivers yet another class act. The remainder of the cast members including, Manav Kaul and Eshan Naqvi were decent inside and out.

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Overall, Saina tried to cash in the hot biographical movies market, and with this being a story about a woman athlete, it might appeal to the younger and family audience. However, the entire 135-minute movie felt like a Wikipedia article and is utterly predictable. Watch ‘Saina’ on Amazon Prime Video here.

Rating – 2/5 | Grade – C

Review by Atul Khandelwal & Edited by Fahad Alam
Follow Atul & Fahad on IG – @_filmybuddy
Co-written by Surya Komal

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