Chinky, outsider, Chinese, chhoti aankh, sounds similar eh? I’m sure all of us have used these words for people belonging to Northeast India and not even once thought about the fact that decent humans are supposed to be civil and not derogatory.
Racism is evil in society across the globe that has sparked several debates but the end doesn’t seem to be anywhere near. In India, our friends from the far East aren’t treated any better than blacks in the United States, and that’s exactly what Kay Kay Menon starrer, Penalty is about. (Well, much more than that actually).
I was as usual scrolling through my Netflix feed and I came across this movie Poster with Kay Kay Menon on it. The man is well known for his mean roles and stellar performances so I decided to give his newly released Netflix movie Penalty a shot.
Skipping the entire narration of the movie, the plot basically talks about a boy from Manipur Lukram Smith who takes admission in a college SRMU in Lucknow because of its very popular football club. However, despite him being able to play very well, he is not selected because of his ethnicity. But against all odds, he somehow does end up being exactly where he wanted to be by the end of it.
Talking about how is the movie, I’d call it very average. The storyline and idea of the movie is very interesting and had it been directed and cinematographed correctly, it could have been a very good movie.
Another problem that I had with the movie (and this one’s really funny) is the hairstyle of many characters. Kay Kay Menon’s look made him like an Indian, toned down version of our beloved Professor Snape. In fact, their characters are sort of similar in a way that Menon despite being the antagonist throughout the movie, does become the good guy in the end.
Parth, the coach has played his part decently well. My favourite amongst them all was Lukrams Sardar friend who acted very well. Menon did play the part of cruella beautifully but I’d like a bit more depth, which usually is his forte.
The protagonist Lukram has played a decent part, however, a bit more expressions on his face would have made the difference. Lighting was another problem, throughout the movie it felt like a 10k cell phone experience while I was constantly looking for the Samsung Note 10 pro feel in it.
There has been a slight love angle, but then again, everything has been sort of flat through the movie and you will have to try hard to find moments of perfection in this one.
All in all, a fairly alright job, but nothing extraordinary. I mean, I would expect something more substantial and meaty since the theme of the movie was a very good one.
Star cast: Lukram Smil as Lukram, Kay Kay Menon asm Vikram Singh, Shashank Arora as Parth, Manjot Singh as Ishwerjot Singh Dhillon, Bijou Thaangjam as Bijou, Aakash Dabhade as Jugaadu
