It’s perfectly watchable, but never great like it should’ve been.

Priyanka Chopra does a good job…What it gets right is the kind of churlishness and mean-minded partisanship Indian sporting federations are beset by : the men ( and they are overwhelmingly men) who run it are not oriented towards the benefit of the players.

…is made for whistles and some quick money…Everything said and done, it’s good to see a mainstream Hindi film with a protagonist from the North-East, that too a woman, a champion though.

The performances from the lead pair largely fill the gaps in the story telling, but then a biopic relies heavily on the director’s craft, which in this case fails to impress. There are flashes of brilliance, yes, but on the whole Mary Kom fails to dazzle.

I would have liked if the film didn’t so shamelessly exploit my patriotic sentiments to afford it respect in its final scene. I would have liked something much more than this mediocre account of a magnificent reality.

The question is: should you watch Mary Kom? You should, the simple reason being that we owe it to the pugilist who has gone where few Indians have ever gone – to the pinnacle of her sport – and stayed there long enough not to be remembered as a flash in the pan.

Mary Kom’s story is a great one and we all know that. The film falls short in doing justice to Magnificent Mary. Mary Kom is strictly average

The cinema child inside me was bruised that I could not bring myself to like Mary Kom. As a woman, I deeply respect her and draw inspiration from her. But the film that was aspiring to reach her story to millions falls prey to mawkish ways that tells a half baked, semi-impactful, immature story that doesn’t allow you to empathize,feel for or connect with the subject they are paying tribute to. The film was a business vehicle that was made to draw money than to create good cinema for posterity sake.

For a sports biopic running at what seems a reasonable length of 2 hours 3 mins, there’re innumerable moments of restlessness in the film. Mary Kom doesn’t have enough to pack a punch.

…this film still moves and inspires you enough. You would still root for Mary Kom as she enters the ring. But that’s primarily because Priyanka Chopra brings that aggression into the character. No this is not quite the biopic that Mary Kom deserves. Yet, I would urge you to watch it. For the ones who seek to understand the champion pugilist better, just read her book!

So, would I take my kids to the theater to watch this one? Unlikely, will certainly not make extra effort. But would want them to watch it when it’s on TV, just to see the power of strong will. Fortunately or unfortunately, it’s not for the cinema, it’s for the real-life person who deserved a film about her life.

While Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was a case of an overcooked narrative, Kumar’s Mary Kom suffers from the contrary: an inconsistent narrative that seems too hurried to strike the right balance between her personal life and career, and ends up biting off more than it can chew. It could have done with 20 extra minutes of Kom’s resilience, without liberally jumping time frames, to give shape to her stunted journey. I’d settle for an engaging documentary on the same, or better still, footage of her fights-and let the mere mental awareness of her struggles add to the gravity of battle.