As Shahid Kapoor's Jersey releases, assessing whether another South remake will ensure him a hit after Kabir Singh

One of Shahid Kapoor’s biggest hits in his career was Kabir Singh , the remake of the Telugu superhit Arjun Reddy. His soon-to-release Jersey is a remake of the 2019 hit Telugu sports drama of the same name, that starred Nani.

The Telugu film, directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, went on to win two National Awards as well. Now that the Hindi remake, also directed by Tinnanuri, is slated to release in theatres, will it work for Shahid Kapoor and set the box office on fire like his last flick?

There are many factors that worked with the Telugu audience, the foremost of which is that Indians love cricket. This movie focuses on a failed cricketer, Ranji player Arjun (Nani), whose dream is to join the playing Indian 11. In fact, Telugu star Nani delivered one of the best performances of his career in this film, and this was hailed by the audience and critics alike.

The touching father-son relationship that the director portrayed in the film was one of the highlights of the film. Every parent would connect to what their child wants and to make their own dreams come true vicariously through their children. Arjun wants the best for his son Nani, and when the child asks for a jersey, a new journey starts again for the father.

The audience always bats for the underdog. In this flick, Arjun is clearly the underdog who is trying to prove his worth by overcoming all the challenges and obstacles. Will he ever make it as a cricketer? Will he ever represent India? There are so many youngsters who share this dream of playing cricket for the country, and thus, the story of Arjun resonated with the Telugu audience.

Since it is the same director who is helming the Shahid Kapoor-starrer, it is a big advantage for the Bollywood star since the movie is following a template that has already worked. And if Shahid delivers a stellar performance as Arjun, then this movie would be a sure hit.

Having said that, one must realise that the Hindi audience is different from the Telugu audience, and director Tinnanuri is likely to have tweaked some aspects of the film to suit their sensibilities.

Tinnanuri has cleverly roped in some of the same actors for the Hindi version as well, like Shishir Sharma (Mumbai coach) and Ronit Kamra (Nani, the son). Music director Anirudh, who scored for the original Telugu version, has also composed for the Hindi version.

Shahid Kapoor has been seen in mostly romantic roles, and later, as a serious hero. Some different and difficult roles that he has taken on (like in Haider, Udta Punjab or Kabir Singh) showed that he had evolved as an actor, and could take on challenges. While Jersey is about sports, and the Hindi star can flex his muscles on the pitch, it is also about a tender father-son relationship. The question arises as to how receptive the audience would be to seeing Shahid as a father on screen, and how he is able to emotionally connect with the audience in this role.

Meanwhile, Shahid’s real-life father Pankaj Kapur is also sharing screen space with him in Jersey as his mentor and coach. Though they have acted together earlier in Shaandaar (2015), it will be interesting to see how this relationship has turned out in this new film.

The Hindi star reportedly stated that he could relate to Arjun in Jersey because it is about a man who achieves success late in life. While many had dissuaded him from taking on this role since there would be comparisons with Nani’s strong performance, Shahid believed that he could deliver as strong a performance, if not better than the Telugu star. Jersey will surely add a new dimension to Shahid Kapoor’s career if he plays Arjun well.

Jersey is slated to release in cinemas this Friday on 22 April.

Latha Srinivasan is a senior journalist based in Chennai. Her passion is entertainment, travel, and dogs.

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