Kacchey Limbu Movie Review: Radhika Madan and Rajat Barmecha’s Sports Film Falls Short of Zesty Expectations (LatestLY Exclusive)

Kacchey Limbu Movie Review: Nostalgia is a very manipulative sweetener when it comes to our shows and movies. By making us hark back to our childhood through 'slice of life' moments shown in the films and series, the makers score a point and more in winning over us. At times, they work really well, and there are times when nostalgia feels an excuse to mask a weak screenplay. For JioCinema's Kacchey Limbu, directed by Shubham Yogi, the latter is the case. Kacchey Limbu: Radhika Madan Was Reminded of Her Childhood While Shooting for the Film - Here's Why!

Yes, I admit, I was for a few moments enraptured by the film's hook of 'underarm' cricket tournaments. Having played quite a lot of them in my childhood, teenage and even in early '20s, the film invoked some pleasant memories within me. But when it came for the the story kick in, the memories of the past lost hold over me miles before the end.

Kacchey Limbu (even the name hooks up threads of our childhood) is about two siblings Akash (Rajat Barmecha) and Aditi (Radhika Madan), both cricket-obsessed youngsters. Akash is a supremely talented aspiring cricketer, who is the champion of their locality, but is struggling to hit the big leagues. Without a proper career at 26, he has become the sore point for his father (Mahesh Thakur).

Aditi, who is well-versed with all cricket trivia and terms, desires to be a fashion designer, but is presently content looking for a medical seat per her father's wishes. After a very heated conversation over family dinner, Akash and Akash end up in a bizarre face-off. Akash challenges Aditi to make her team of five and beat his team at the local underarm cricket tourney, and he will agree to what the family says. She agrees to this and then goes on to find the four other members crazy enough to be part of her team.

Watch the Trailer of Kacchey Limbu:

Like I said before, I was really drawn in by Kacchey Limbu's nostalgic setting around local society matches in the first act of the movie. Even the middle-class sensibilities of Aditi and Akash's family felt very relatable. The director, giving credit where due, has done a nice job at least in giving the characters a good starting point that you can draw from your own life. Although I found the whole 'challenge' very juvenile - not sure, why the parents even agreed for it - if it means more cricket, then what's wrong?

The trouble with Kacchey Limbu is the cricket part itself. Firstly, it is hard to digest that a major selector would be eyeing a local cricket tournament, that too underarm, while planning a bigger league on the scale of IPL. Why have such major stakes in what is supposed to be a very low-key tournament?

Also, where are the aunties who screamed at us to stop the din and go back to our homes? Why are windows not broken when those big sixes were hit and why are no parents unhappy with children spending so much time playing cricket? Come on, if you are going for realism and nostalgia, these challenges were definitely part of our obsession with gully cricket and not addressing those did get my goat.

While I liked the idea that you can only score a six when you hit a white banner tied between two buildings, I am pretty sure it is impossible to hit the same spot six balls in a trot. No wonder Sachin Tendulkar is shown to be impressed with Akash's feat, but why isn't Guinness Book of Records also not awed by this superhuman achievement? Radhika Madan Birthday: Meet the Fashionista Who Was Born to Slay!

The unrealistic stakes around the tournament aside, Kacchey Limbu should have been more engaging when Aditi makes her own kacchey limbu team. But it doesn't, and there are quite a few factors at play here. For one, Aditi is far less a compelling character to follow than her brother and the writing does little justice to her. It is easier for me to understand Akash's dilemmas and frustration, but Aditi comes across as a confused personality which makes it harder to root for, apart from the fact that she is the main character and Radhika Madan is quite good in the role.

Then there is the fact that most of her teammates are not sketched out well, be it the football loving teenager, the former Ranji-playing uncle or the security guard with the love for drink. We also have Kabir (Ayush Mehra), who is shown to have a crush for Aditi, but he wants to be in her team because he wants to step outside her brother's shadow. I felt only Kabir has reasonable stakes out of the whole team of Aditi's even then the film isn't sure how to explore him as a character further.

Kacchey Limbu reminded me of (better) films that revolved around a ragtag team taking on the mighty ones against all odds, be it Aamir Khan's Lagaan (given a nod here) to Tamil Cinema's wonderfully whimsical Chennai 600028 films. Why, even if it revolves around football, Netflix's underrated Jadugar does a better job at establishing its characters and conflicts. What worked in these films is the chemistry between the players, that Kacchey Limbu avoids to show us.

Speaking of chemistry, Akash finds a girl (Aisha Ahmed) while at a job interview and hits it off with her. She is a standup comedian, but the one skit we see of hers is so unfunny that I am glad she is looking for a real job. Anyway, the power of boners make Akash soften his stand about taking up a job, which makes me wish his father could have made his job easy (and ours too) had he introduced his son to Tinder.

Kacchey Limbu still could have won me over, if the cricket matches had some mettle. Instead, they are utterly predictable and lack any form of good surprises or twists. A travesty, since a girl shining over her male peers and winning the respect of her brother should have made for a bloody brilliant sports film.

Final Thoughts

Kacchey Limbu attracts you with its nostalgia-dipped storyline and charming performances from Radhika Madan, Rajat Barmecha and Ayush Mehra, but beneath the honeyed exterior lies a narrative with weak character motives, low-stake conflicts and ordinary sports sequences. Kacchey Limbu is streaming on JioCinema.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2023 07:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).