Gold begins in 1936 when an unpartitioned India, still under the British rule, is playing the hockey final of Summer Olympics against Germany. Hitler is in the audience and the Indian team snatches a victory from his team under his nose. The win doesn't bring out the kind of exultance needed here, though, even from the captain Samrat (Kunal Kapoor). The reason being, they were saluting the British flag with the British anthem playing the background. But the man, who was the most disappointed with this setting, was the team's manager, Bengali babu Tapan Das (Akshay Kumar). There sowed the seeds of his dream that India should win the first gold medal in Olympics as a free country.

Thanks to World War II, the Olympics are not held for the next two editions. Then in 1946, when India is at the threshold of getting independence, the games are reinstated for the 1948 edition, that too in London. A by-then down-in-the-dumps Tapan realises this is the opportunity for him to get the gold for the free country. A hockey team, however, is the last thing in the minds of a newly-born nation, torn by partition and the rampant red-tapism. Or is it?

Directed by Reema Kagti and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, Gold is a fictional take of India's real win of gold in field hockey at the 1948 Olympics. Like, Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, however, Gold decides to stick to fictitious characters instead. I have an issue with both the movies about this particular aspect - when the real-life events are so interesting then why opt for fictional narratives?

Keeping this gripe aside, Gold stands strongly on Akshay Kumar's star-power and his recent brand of nationalist fervour. If you are a fan of these facets of Akshay's movies, then Gold has several chest-thumping moments for you. There are a few scenes that will leave an impact. The conclusion of the first match, I mentioned in the opening para, gives Gold its emotional heft. Tapan's un-ending struggles to make a hockey team that plays for India has its moments. The performances also support the movie when it is at its weakest. Even the sublime relation with the newly formed India and Pakistan teams is well-done, even if a bit melodramatic.

Even though some of the VFX feels obvious (especially the crowd scenes), the makers had done a good job of recreating the historic setting. The hockey matches are well-choreographed. Sure, there is a lot on jingoism thrown in, but you can expect that from an Akshay Kumar movie these days.

The issue with Gold, a big one at that, is that it suffers from the hangover of a much superior hockey film, Chak De India. Akshay Kumar, in a recent media interaction, had insisted that we should not compare the film with the Shah Rukh Khan film. Sorry, Akki, it can't be helped!

From the framing to how certain matches are played and the rivalry of two core players, there is so much you draw parallels with CDI. Even Akshay Kumar's Tapan feels a lot like Kabir Khan, except he is a lot drunk, inconsistent and has a wife. But Chak De India does these scenes better and they felt organic, which Gold couldn't manage to do. The Delhi cafe fight in Chak De India becomes a brick-using team-building exercise in Gold, but doesn't have the same impact. Even the nail-biting matches played in during the final moments don't have the same enthralling finesse, because there is a deja vu in the proceedings. And not just Chak De India, we can also draw parallels with Dangal and Sultan when it comes to the plot.

If we take the Chak De India syndrome out of the equation, there is still a sense of artificiality in how some subplots are narrated. We expected Gold to try and insert every main event that happened in the era - from the World War II to the partition violence. The partition drama, in particular, gives the movie a strong intermission dilemma, as, like the country, even the team splits up. But these portions aren't as strong as they should have felt. The addition of two songs, featuring a drunk, hammy Akshay, feel very shoehorned and are there to give Akshay something to please the frontbenchers, and a secondary character to have some villainous motives (just like what they did with Babita's coach in Dangal). The latter is then given an expanded role ahead just so that he can grate Tapan's (and our) nerves.

Talking about the team itself, save for the aristocratic Raghubir Pratap Singh (an excellent Amit Sadh) and the hot-blooded Sikh Hemant Singh (Sunny Kaushal in a strong performance), none of the other members is fleshed out. Even the captain of the team is made more of a background player, as Tapan, Raghu and Hemant lead the way. Perhaps there is an allusion to the fact that he doesn't want to cross his aristocratic deputy (remember, we had just got our independence then), but his complete lack of involvement is jarring at times. Also, there are a couple of comic scenes that take away the ingenuity of the setting (a Buddhist monk breaking his vow of silence when he learns a star player is coming to his monastery). In case you need to have some real laughs, check how certain British audience members react to India's goals in the final match.

Speaking of the performances of the lead actors, Akshay Kumar does what he usually does in movies he did earlier, like Pad Man and Toilet -  Ek Prem Katha. Playing a socially conscious man with the nation in his heart, the role of Tapan Das is a cakewalk for Akshay, with the only challenge here is that he has to sport a fake Bengali accent. He is really good in the scenes where he has to express his emotions strongly and vocally. Also, it is a refreshing change that his character isn't made out to be too white - Tapan is shown as a habitual drunk and a gambler. Credit must also be given to the actor for not hogging all the limelight and let others have their moments to shine.

Mouni Roy makes a confident Bollywood debut, even though her stereotypical Bengali wife character is left in the sidelines most of the times. Their romance is also one of the film's weaker portions, as we really don't feel any chemistry between the two. On the other hand, Hemant's love story with his beloved (Nikita Dutt, really good), is more effective, even with the less runtime committed to it.

Kunal Kapoor and Vineet Kumar Singh, part of the 1936 Indian hockey team, shine in their limited roles.

The music is very comme ci comme ca. Gold, however, scores with its striking cinematography (Álvaro Gutiérrez), while the editing by Anand Subaya makes things move at a decent pace.

Yay!

- Akshay Kumar's starry performance

- The supporting cast

- Tapan's struggles to get the team intact has its moments

- The setting and technical aspects

Nay!

- Suffers from a big Chak De India hangover

- Jingoism could have been toned down

- Real-life references feel artificial

- The music is average

- Relies on caricatures and tropes

Final thoughts

Gold has its moments, thanks to its setting, the performances and nationalist fervour. Akshay Kumar's fans will lap up the movie with ease, as it plays right up to the actor's strengths. In short, Gold has tremendous potential for making a really good patriotic sports film with the Independence era setting being the perfect plot point. Unfortunately for the film, its  Achilles heel is in reverberating a far more memorable and better-knitted sports drama.

Rating:
2.5 out of 5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2018 05:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).