Panga critics review: This Kangana Ranaut film is not to be missed
Kangana Ranaut is extraordinary in Panga, according to film critics. This sports drama’s big success, they say, is in delivering its message without making a big noise about it.
The latest Kangana Ranaut-starrer from Bollywood, Panga released on Friday, alongside Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor's Street Dancer 3D. According to movie reviews of the Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari film, it is a story about love disguised as a sports-movie. In Panga, once the skipper of the Indian kabaddi team, Ranaut’s Jaya Nigam is now a loving wife and doting mother to a seven-year-old son, living a life of anonymity. She works as a ticket clerk at Bhopal railway station. Critics agree that Kangana Ranaut, who will be awarded the Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind this year, sinks her teeth into the role of a 32-year-old mother, who left her career at its peak and now wishes to make a comeback. Her husband and her son are her world but she also misses kabbadi, her dreams, and her aspirations.
Critics argue that the deftly directed, intelligently scripted — director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari of Nil Battey Sannata and Bareilly Ki Barfi fame has co-written with Nikhil Mehrotra — and well-acted sports drama is full of characters who are easy to relate to. Many argue that Kangana Ranaut looks equally believable as the cardigan-wearing, overprotective, small-town mother and as a national team kabbadi player. Prashant (Jassie Gill) as the ever-supportive sweet husband and son Adi (Yagya Bhasin) are revelations; while Meenu (Richa Chadha) as Jaya’s best friend and kabbadi coach, Nisha (Megha Burman) as Jaya’s kabbadi teammate and Neena Gupta as Jaya’s mother are all well-etched out characters that add value to the story.
For a few critics, Panga also scores handsomely for the manner in which the crucial kabaddi sequences are mounted and choreographed by national-level player, Gauri Wadekar. Others also point out that while on the surface Panga is the inspiring story of a woman, who returns to the sport she abandoned in exchange for domestic bliss, you only have to look closer to recognise that it’s actually a charming, feel-good film about unconditional love and the true meaning of family. "Sensitive and riveting at once, Panga is a not-to-be-missed gem," NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee wrote in his Panga movie review. Ahead, a look at what he and other film critics have said about Kangana Ranaut new film, Panga:
Rajeev Masand in News 18: "Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, this thoughtful film asks us to celebrate not only those resilient women who refuse to be restricted by marriage and motherhood in the pursuit of their dreams, but also the supportive husbands and children that are the wind beneath their wings... Above everything else the writing in Panga is powered by humour and positivity. This is an endlessly optimistic film with generally kind-spirited characters that enable and empower Jaya to pursue her goal and to realise her potential. Her greatest cheerleader is her husband Prashant, played by an impossibly charming Jassie Gill, who encourages her to fly, steps up to shoulder her domestic duties, and does it all with a smile. Prashant is the partner every Indian woman dreams of, and the partner every Indian man will be measured against henceforth.
Saibal Chatterjee in NDTV: "Panga isn't the sort of Bollywood sports film in which the protagonist is a cocky, invincible smooth-talker who bulldozes her way through without a care in the world. Jaya has to reckon with a slew of obstacles. Her son needs constant monitoring owing to his medical condition. Her husband, also a Railways employee, has no clue how to keep the household running when the onus falls on him. Just as important, Jaya is no longer a sprightly 25-year-old. Her reflexes have slowed down. Her body is no longer in shape. Her spirit is willing, but her mind keeps telling that she might be venturing into rough terrain... Panga isn't the sort of Bollywood sports film in which the protagonist is a cocky, invincible smooth-talker who bulldozes her way through without a care in the world. Jaya has to reckon with a slew of obstacles."
Shubhra Gupta in The Indian Express: "Ranaut has the courage to go plain-faced, minus pancake: her sure-footedness right through the film, on and off the mat, is spot-on. Chadha, armed with a bouncy pony-tail and buoyant back-chat, is a lot of fun, as is Neena Gupta’s bracing mother. The two current kabaddi players, whom Jaya spends time with, in the second half, both leave a mark. And it’s nice that Jaya is made to work hard for her climactic triumph ; the victory is then even sweeter... Gill, as the supportive husband, who learns how to function minus his loving wife, is solid, and keeps us going. As does Tailang, in a brief kabaddi official role. Young Bhasin as Adi is a charmer, but is given too much talk-time, and the dialogues he mouths sometimes sound like they are there strictly to be played for laughs. I will take this, if it comes with a film that celebrates a woman trying to reclaim her dream, even if it comes sanctioned by family. The film springs to life when Jaya raises her fist, and slaps her thigh: it is a ‘panga’ worth taking."

