Tennis Buddies review: Divya Dutta – Ranvir Shorey’s film has a great purpose, but lacks execution

Tennis Buddies is a film made with good intentions and a great purpose, but the final product ends up looking like a school project. Starring Ranvir Shorey, Divya Dutta and Dakshita Patel, the film is about sports and is just stuck there. Marinated in the same clichés, the film narrates the same age- old tale again. The film is directed by Sohail Tatari, and produced by the CFSI and Shravan Kumar.

What it’s about : Tennis Buddies is about a girl Anushka, whose father wants her to be the world’s best tennis player. It was a way of fulfilling his dreams, as he wanted to be the world’s best tennis player back in his time. But consequences and politics in the club stopped him from becoming one. Anushka is trying harder to master the sport, as a lot depends on her – her father’s pride, the club’s reputation, shutting an enemy down, and a few more things. Does she win or not, is the story of the film.

Practically speaking, this film addresses peer pressure in a larger context, but the difference here is that the girl doesn’t hate the sport, and is keen to master it. It is a story that we all have seen since eternity, so it doesn’t create that impact though.

Yay : We don’t know if she is a tennis player in real life or not, but the lead girl, played by Dakshita, has mastered the skills of the game. Divya has a voice that you want to listen to and it touches you, which is the highlight of the film.

Nay: As we said earlier, the film doesn’t have anything new to offer, it is the same clichéd story we have seen several times. Dakshita, though good at the sport, has a very long way to go as an actress. Ranvir plays the irritated, pressurising father but overdoes it sometimes. And his is the only character that has a back story, the rest all are one-directional. The cinematography is stuck in the 90s, making it look like a school project.

CineBlitz Verdict

Tennis Buddies is a film made with a good intent, but the execution has too many flaws. It feels like it was made years ago, and waiting in a time-capsule till release.

Rating: 1.5 stars