‘Cup’ movie review: An uninspiring sports drama with no frills

A still from ‘Cup’ | Photo Credit: Special Editing

Even an average sports movie – which follows all the worn-out templates of the genre – usually ends up giving us a happy climax in the end due to the nature of the narrative. But it would take some effort to get rid of any sense of excitement or triumph in such a movie and leave us exhausted. Sanju V. Samuel’s Cup it achieves just that. Every movie title is read Cup- Love All Play and one is not sure what that means.

Nidhin Babu (Mathew Thomas), an aspiring badminton player, dreams of making it big in the sport. Being from an economically disadvantaged background and coming from a village with no sports facilities, he has a mountain to climb. Helping him on his journey is his friend Anna (Riya Shibu) who is another talented player. But he has to overcome a few obstacles before he can achieve his dream of becoming a regional champion.

The screenplay written by Akhilesh Latharaj and Denson Durom gives almost equal play to teenage friendship and romantic hints, as it does to the sports themselves. But Cup it lacks serious conflict, which is essential in a film of this type. The hardships he would face because of his origins are not explored much; instead, we find situations that seem artificial, rather than organic.

One such roadblock for him comes from a referee who has developed animosity towards him due to an incident of road violence, and another is the manager of a coaching center who is trying to make money quickly because of his hunger to win. The emotional drama involving his family and his conflict with Anna, – who seems to be his biggest obstacle – feels subtle.

Basil Joseph seems to have been cast with the intention of affecting his popularity with the audience as his character does not make much difference in Nidhin’s journey; Pep’s short speech at night is not enough for his character’s needs. Namitha Pramod, as the badminton coach, also delivers a lazily written pep talk. Karthik Vishnu, as Nidhin’s best friend and sidekick, gets a very interesting character arc.

Moreover, sports dramas are mainly about the sports themselves, but the badminton matches in this film are shot with little effort and lack dramatic turns, tense situations or exciting gameplay. Cup it ends up being an uninspiring sports game with no creativity.

The Cup is currently playing in theaters