Doosra

A girl who never fits in her skin. A cricketer who comes into his own, leading his country to a colossal win. This parallel play between two characters is channelled through Doosra’s docu-fiction format: the choice is interesting, but the results are mixed. Tara (Plabita Borthakur) lives in a Rajasthan village with her conservative father (Ankur Vikal) and obedient mother (Samidha Guru), and an older brother (Navin Ratwa). Like all traditional families, Tara is expected to fetch and carry for the men — get me water, orders her father, and she has to leave her books, even as the bada bhai lounges — with her mother toeing the patriarchal line, because that’s what women have done for centuries. The film begins in the 90s, with a snapshot ride of the decade — the declaration of liberalisation, the empty RBI coffers, the banking on our gold reserves, the rath-yatra and the rise of the ruling party, amongst other important markers — along with developments in the Indian cricket team, with its highs and lows.

भारत में क्रिकेट सिर्फ एक खेल नहीं है, बल्कि वो जोश, जुनून, और जज्बा है जो हर जाति-धर्म, ऊंच-नीच से परे, हर तबके के दिल में एक सा धड़कता है। फील्ड पर एक पल में हार को जीत में बदल देने वाला यह करामाती खेल तमाम युवाओं की आंखों में सपने बोता है। क्रिकेट के इसी असर की बानगी है फिल्म ‘दूसरा’। फिल्म में क्रिकेट के मैदान पर मिली एक ऐतिहासिक जीत को घुटन भरी जिंदगी जी रही एक लड़की की आजादी से दिलचस्प अंदाज में जोड़ा गया है, लेकिन लड़की की कहानी पर कहीं न कहीं क्रिकेट का करिश्मा भारी पड़ जाता है। प्‍लॉट साल 1991 से 2002 तक दरम्यान का है। यहां दो कहानियां एक साथ चलती हैं। एक तरफ प्रिंस ऑफ कोलकाता सौरव गांगुली भारतीय क्रिकेट की पुरानी छवि तोड़कर कामयाबी की नई इबारतें लिख रहे थे, तो दूसरी ओर राजस्थान के एक रूढ़िवादी परिवार की बगावती बच्ची तारा (प्लाबिता बोरठाकुर) सौरव दादा की हर जीत में अपनी कामयाबी देख रही थी।

A small-town girl, Tara (Plabita Borthakur), grows up in a patriarchal and regressive household in 1990s Rajasthan. She wants to break free; she is different from the rest. Like millions of Indians, she finds inspiration in the clutter-breaking career of a cricketer. So we see Tara’s coming-of-age journey intercut with the story of Sourav Ganguly transforming a meek Indian cricket team into a combative force. Doosra, directed by Abhinay Deo, is a docudrama that plays out like a fragile film-school idea inflated into a feature-length production. At its best, it feels like one of those patriotic World Cup commercials with farfetched allegories and corny copywriting. The entire cricket-as-a-metaphor-for-life analogy is well past its sell-by date.