Jersey 
3/5 stars 

It's always challenging for an actor to (a) do a remake of a film which is much watched and much loved and (b) do a sports drama that usually has a given arc--failure followed by triumph and redemption. Bringing something new to the game is tough, but it is also seductive. The idea of learning a new sport, at least proficiently enough to play it on screen and the possibility of inhabiting a world which you love is tempting. It allows an actor to challenge himself mentally and physically.

Not surprisingly actors, men and women, have done a series of sports films in recent times, from Priyanka Chopra's Mary Kom (2014) to Farhan Akhtar's more recent Toofan (2021), which closely mirrors the plot of Shahid Kapoor's Jersey. The reason is obvious: the opportunity to do some heavy lifting as an actor. In the absence of enormous budgets and outside storytelling, sometimes it is good to focus on the craft of acting. That is what Kapoor does, as Arjun Talwar, a cricketer past his prime who comes back to the game one last time to give his child the gift he wants--the Indian cricket jersey.

There are several themes here. The idea of earning respect rather than buying it; the idea of sometimes taking the circuitous route to do something; and the idea that love can make you climb mountains and do other poetic things. When it was made in Telugu with Nani, the movie did exceptionally well commercially and critically. After Arjun Reddy (2017), which was remade as Kabir SIngh (2019), Kapoor must have decided it is safer to revisit a story that has already been told. And indeed, it gives him ample opportunity to show rage as well as hope.

He is a fine if erratic actor, with a career that is littered with classics like Jab We Met (2007) and Haider (2014), as well as turkeys--or rather honourable failures--such as Mausam (2011) and Rangoon (2017). But he can never be accused of not trying, or not putting himself out there to do something different. At a time when Bollywood is going through a crisis of faith, sometimes it is enough to enjoy an actor trying to live his role, instead of just trying to be liked by the audience. Directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, who helmed the Telugu version, watch Jersey for Kapoor at his best. Mrunal Thakur, as she was in Toofan, is an able female lead, with a winning freshness and screen credibility to match. Someone needs to give her a role that is more than just the wife. It will be interesting to watch.