Toolsidas Junior Movie Review: A no-frills sports drama

Toolsidas Junior begins with noted snooker player Toolsidas (Rajiv Kapoor) winning his way through a snooker competition until he finally faces an obviously bad guy and reigning champion Jimmy Tandon (Dalip Tahil). The buildup and the caricaturish villainy may make you wonder whether the tournament is one of international standing. However, this is a club-level competition where the audience members are made largely of family and other club members. This fits largely with the overall simplicity of the film, which aims to make the viewing experience warm and comforting.

Cast: Varun Buddhadev, Sanjay Dutt, Rajiv Kapoor, Dalip Tahil

Director: Mridul Mahendra

Streaming on: Netflix

It is a simple story about Midi, a young teenager, whose dream is to see his father win the club championship. A simple family consisting of Midi's doting and caring mother (Tasveer Kamil), and a money-minded but good-at-heart elder brother Goti (Chinmai Chandranshuh). The dynamic between the brothers is a refreshing addition to an otherwise cliched tale. We also have Mohammed Salaam (Sanjay Dutt), a washed-up star coming out of self-imposed retirement to train the youngster in snooker. Almost like Karate Kid... let's call this Snooker Kid. We have supporting characters, who exist only to root for the protagonist. The characters who get an arc in this film are mainly Midi, Toolsidas, and to an extent, Salaam.

Cliches and lack of all-rounded character development would usually be a bad thing, but in Toolsidas Junior, we don't really mind because the film is aware of its strengths and knows it’s not aspiring to be a Chak De India or a Dangal. Neither does it want to be a Freaky Ali or The Zoya Factor. It nestles itself between these two extremes and desists from making drastic moves. Even the game of snooker doesn’t run into tough corners or complicated shots.

The compact runtime and the genuineness of the performances keep us invested. Sanjay Dutt's towering presence too adds gravitas. Rajiv Kapoor's comeback film, which unfortunately also became his swansong, showcases his cherubic presence once again.

The stakes are high enough in this film that you can empathise but not so high that you are rooting for them. So, when the final black ball is pocketed, we don’t really jump in joy. Instead, we sport half a smile... and sometimes, that is enough too.