10 movie review: Vinay Rajkumar’s boxing saga is so realistic, it’s almost depressing; but that's a good thing

3.5/5

Story: Vijay Kumar (Vinay Rajkumar) is a young boxer with a lot of promise, who doesn’t get along too well with his coach Pradeep Gowda (Gopalkrishna Deshpande). Despite their differences, the two work together begrudgingly, to great success. Amid sponsorships and the promise of a better life beckoning, Vijay’s winning streak breaks and if that wasn’t bad enough, he fails a dope test. Pending investigation, he and coach Gowda are banned from the sport for a year. Can the two men bury their differences and find redemption?

Review: If the success stories of some of the Kannada film industry’s big hits of recent years are anything to go, ultra-realistic narratives is not one of the winning elements. Even the most rooted stories have a touch of commercialism in them. That’s not to say that Kannada audiences don’t appreciate realistic cinema. They do, abundantly, but when it is watched in the comfort of their homes, which is also why Malayalam and Tamil cinema is so popular among them.

Debutant director Karm Chawla’s film 10 falls in this bracket. It is so realistic; it is almost depressing. And that, I believe, is its Achilles Heel. The whole point of going to a movie hall is to set aside everything and enjoy oneself for a couple of hours, if not more. Here, in just over two hours, he presents a grim tale of a boxer from an underprivileged background who, quite literally, fights his way up the ranks. Staying on top, though, isn’t easy, as he soon finds out.

The thing about sports dramas is that, inevitably, you tend to expect some chest-thumping moments. But even though Karm’s narrative follows the formula of an underdog sports drama, with the rise to the top, failure and redemption, your heart doesn’t swell with pride and you don’t feel excited about the protagonist’s journey. This is a rags-to-riches and back to rags tale without any frills. Karm has literally stripped his narrative bare.

Strangely enough, this approach is what appealed to me, but that may not be the case with most others. Vinay Rajkumar is brilliant as Vijay; a restrained portrayal that is just right for Karm’s film. The role was physically challenging and the actor rose to the challenge, spending six months preparing to get in shape as a featherweight boxer. As his wife, Shruthi, Anusha Ranganath is a revelation. Gopalkrishna Deshpande, of course, is dependable as ever, in his role as coach Gowda.

The grim and dark narrative apart, 10’s biggest strength, of course, is Karm’s handiwork with the camera. This is a beautifully shot film, especially during the fight sequences. It took a while to get used to the slightly jerky hand/shoulder held camerawork, but once you do, you see the detailing it offers.

The film’s realistic narrative is unlikely to make it a crowd-pleaser in theatres, which is probably why after years of keeping it in the cans, producer Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah decided to give it a quick outing and then have it head to OTT. After the few mishits with direct OTT releases, platforms are not making such deals and insisting on a theatrical outing before picking up titles, one hears. 10 has already been picked up by a major streamer, which explains the hurry to release it with absolutely no publicity in the run up to it.

Verdict: 10 is an underdog tale, it follows the formula to the T, but without any frills. If you so happen to be a fan of sports dramas and are also a sucker for realistic cinema, check this one out.