Kai Po Che!
I took a Bollywood film course which got my feet wet in the style of popular cinema that emerges from India in college. Since then I can’t say I’ve taken many forays back there again, though both Netflix and certain multiplexes make it a distinct possibility. However, what I’ve noticed in my last few forays (Namely Zokkomon and Chillar Party) is that there are stories that have featured aspects of subgenres and tales tied together by approximately a half dozen montages throughout a two-hour-plus film.
This film is about three friends who want to start a cricket supply store/training academy. The motivation for each to get involved is different and there are different narrative threads throughout. There is the assisting the underdog plot which leads into the sociopolitical commentary the film has to make, that eventually becomes a factor in the friendship. While there are not non-diegetic bursts of song there is source music during said montages. There is a romantic subplot, which links its way into the interaction of these friends and so on.
While the sports theme is always there, and as tends to happen I picked up a bit more about cricket through this film, it never becomes a sports film per se. It essentially remains a slice-of-life drama with much fenestration throughout that charts many years in the lives of this group of friends.
The film through judicious editing tells a lot of story in not a lot of time and handles its tonal shifts fairly well and it is very capably performed. It’s an entertaining film, and I hope to be able to catch some more recent titles from India before the year is out.
The Movie Rat 
İnteresting! Haha I understand why it might seem like Indian movies are montages stringed together in a theme. Yes somewhere down the line perhaps in the 50s we switched back to the folk tale format öf story-telling. Or may be the song routine gets in the way. But that said there are quite a few movies that are made for the love of the medium but searching for them is sifting for a pin in a haystack exercise. This is still one of the better made movies and can be understood only if one has better idea of India’s political atmosphere.
Thanks for reading and very thoughtful comments. Illumination is always appreciated.