New Delhi: Megastar Akshay Kumar is soon going to be seen in his home production film 'Speedy Singhs'. Kumar is playing himself that is a Bollywood hero in a film based on a relatively lesser known game in India, Ice Hockey.
The film explores the sub conscious of a Sikh boy who is born and brought up in Canada. The second generation lad of an Indian immigrant family, Rajveer is confused about his loyalty and identity in life, and wants to mark his impression in Ice Hockey, a game dominated by whites.
The agony and anxiety of being a Sikh boy in an alien land have always tortured Rajveer who needs to wear religious signs as per the family beliefs. Finally, the youngster decides to do away with his turban and long hair in order to get accepted in Canada.
Rajveer's quest does not end here. Rajveer's father wants him to enter the family business while he wants to pursue a career in Ice Hockey.
The boy does not accept it and sets out to form a Hockey team of his own.
The film will answer whether he becomes successful in achieving a balance between his dreams and parents' expectations or not.
Named as 'Breakaway' in abroad, 'Speedy Singhs' banks chiefly on the tasted craftsmanship of Robert Lieberman.
Lieberman is a celebrated Canadian film and TV director who has several internationally acclaimed films and TV series to his credit.
Known for his grip on thrillers, Lieberman will leave no stone unturned to make this sports based film appealing.
The music of the film is given by Sandeep Chowta who was last heard in Ram Gopal Varma's 'Not A Love Story'.
In addition to Sandeep Chowta and Meet Brothers, international singers as RDB, Rishi Rich and Bohemia have also given their inputs in the music department.
Vinay Virmani, the son of producer Ajay Virmani, is playing Rajveer while Camilla Belle is donning the role of his love interest.
Vinay might be a new entry into films but Camilla's face is quite familiar to the film lovers via films like 'Poison Ivy', 'The Patriot' and 'Jurassic Park: The Lost world'.
Other star cast includes famous stand up comedian Russell Peters, Anupam Kher and Gurpreet Guggi.
The film boasts of touching a very sensitive issue of being a Sikh in Canada, which has its own pros and cons.
It won't be easy for the director Lieberman to strike a fine balance in between objectivity and popular sentiments in scenes related to religious prejudices and beliefs.
Further, it will again be problematic if he portrays everything as melodrama. Generally, people do expect a stand from the director on sensitive issues.
Of course, typical Hollywood style fast paced thrillers and sports based films have carved a niche audience base in India, still we are not used to watch our own heroes going all guns for their sports.
Bollywood has so far produced more than 20 major films based on sports, but only 'Lagaan', 'Chak De India', 'Iqbal' and 'Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar' became successful among them. Other films as 'Hip Hip Hurray', 'Boxer', 'Awwal Number', 'Chamatkar' and 'Kabhi Ajnabee The', not only did bad business but also finished career of some promising actors. Therefore, the situation can become trickier for the newcomer Virmani in case the film gets bombed at the box office.
'Chak De India' and 'Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar' are two rare successful films not based on Cricket, but both of them had established actors, something 'Speedy Singhs' doesn't posses.
Ice Hockey is not a very familiar sport in India, so it will be complicated for the storyteller to convey the nuances of the sports to the typical Indian audiences.
Not many films based on the idea of apartheid are made in India. Probably, 'I Proud to be an Indian', and 'Goal' are the last two films, but there lack of commercial success makes one apprehensive about 'Speedy Singhs'. 'Namastey London' was primarily a love story between two people of the same origin.
Luckily, we don't need to wait much for the fate of 'Speedy Singhs' at the box office. The film is going to be released on September 23, and it might mark the beginning of a new era for sports based films in India.
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