Saina The Film: We Hope It Breaks These 5 Tropes

Saina the Film : Parineeti Chopra starrer Saina, a biopic based on the life of ace badminton player Saina Nehwal is all set to release on Mar 26, 2o21. The trailer is  gripping and we are all eagerly looking forward to the film's release. But at the same time, we must not forget how Bollywood has always had a tendency to make flawed women-centric biopics.

The focus is more on the protagonist's role as a mother or daughter and not her career. Priyanka Chopra starrer Mary Kom definitely should have paid more attention to how the boxer contributed to the country with her sport. Similarly, Vidya Balan's Shakuntala Devi delved deep into her role as a mother and not as a mathematician. We hope Saina breaks these 5 tropes on women-centric biopics.

1. Less focus on the protagonist's profession

After the release of Mary Kom, the boxer said in an interview, “If they make another film on me, I hope it will have less masala on my personal life and focus more on my professional life. I have worked a lot on my sport, developed strategies and skills to face opponents these last 20 years.” The film could have clearly delved deeper into her professional life rather than making it about her love life and motherhood. Why did Kom's real struggles take a backseat in the film?

Similarly, Shakuntala Devi, a film made on a mathematical genius discusses her troubles as a mother. Why wasn't Devi's arithmetical brilliance explored to its fullest in the movie? Way back in the 50s, she left home to enter the world of mathematics that was male-dominated in European and American universities. She overcame the challenges posed by the English language. White men made comments about her Indian attire but she disregarded it all. Why didn't these aspects of her life fascinate the makers of the film?

We hope Saina the film offers us greater details about the sportsperson's life struggles and how she fought against the adversities and challenges she faced.

2. Unrealistic portrayals

Former Flight Officer, Gunjan Saxena said to the Delhi High Court that she never faced gender discrimination in Indian Air Force, as shown in her biopic. She added that she respects the IAF and is thankful to the arm force for giving her the opportunity to serve the country, including her participation in the Kargil war. However, Saxena made it clear that the film is based on her life but made from the point of view of the makers. She added that the purpose of the film was to motivate young girls to join IAF, as seen in the disclaimer right at the beginning of the film.

When Saina hits the screens, we expect a realistic portrayal of the badminton player. We would like to see a film based on facts and not as something made just to attract the audience.

3. Stereotypical representation of women

In today's world, technology has propagated the stereotypical representation of women to an extent that we always have an urge to consume information about the personal lives of women. Most of the times, it is the image of an 'ideal woman' that is presented to us. Such a woman has the traits which the mass can recognise. As the Saina trailer looks promising, we are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that the film offers much more than a stereotypical representation of a woman who 'fits in' the society's description of 'a woman'.

4. Fiction over facts

In 2016, Sonam Kapoor starrer Neerja received the appreciation of the audience and critics but Nupoor Abrol, a crew member of the hijacked flight commented on a Facebook post saying, "Yes, truly a very difficult moment. But also a difficult moment for all those flight attendants to accept the movie for what it is unfairly propagating. Neerja was a wonderful person and I think even her soul today would cringe at taking this undeserved adulation. Not fair to the FA's who have in reality faced their ordeal! I was incidental in that plot. It was Astrid, Sherene, Sunshine and off course Massey who were the real heroes of the day. I am glad today I can show my gratitude to them". Thus, we see how Bollywood has a tendency to drift from the reality and focus more or fiction than facts.

If we look at biopics made on sportspersons, Bollywood has a tendency to show a limited period of hard work that the athletes put into their training instead of making it a regular habit. This is far removed from reality because anyone involved in physical activities needs to practice their passion regularly to excel in it.

Here's hoping we get to see the actual story of Saina Nehwal and not a cooked up fiction.

5. Incorrect selection of star cast

More than casting the 'right people', Bollywood focuses on casting glamorous stars to increase the viewership any film. The focus should be on choosing actors who can do justice to the roles they are provided with along with physically resembling the person they are portraying on screen. Parineeti Chopra is definitely a versatile actor who has been experimenting with various roles ever since the start of her career. Her fans are excited and hopeful to see in playing the ace Badminton champion on screen.

Saina the Film Trailer 

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