Match Fixing Movie Cast/ Actors: Vineet Kumar Singh as Avinash Patwardhan, Manoj Joshi as Pervez Musharraf, Raj Arjun as Col. Imam, Shataf Figar as Parvez Kayani, Ekavali Khanna as Rubia, Annu Kapoor as Narrator, Anuja Sathe as Anuradha Patwardhan, Lalit Parimoo as Ranvijay Singh, Yogesh Bhardwaj as Ats chief Rathore, Rajeev Pandey as Hafiz Saeed, Ramanjit Kaur as Asifa Andrabi, Maitreyee Datye as Aaradhya, Kishor Kadam as Savant Karmarkar & Shivam Mishra as Kasaab.
Match Fixing Movie Director: Kedar Prabhakar Gaekwad
Match Fixing Movie Release Date: January 10, 2025
Match Fixing Movie Available On: Theatrical Release and (Likely to be released on the Prime Video OTT platform)
Match Fixing Movie Released/ Available In Languages: Hindi
Match Fixing Movie Runtime: 146 Minutes
Match Fixing Movie Critic Review:
It’s a fitting tribute that director and cinematographer Kedar Prabhakar Gaekwad pays to ASI Tukaram Omble, the cop who fought Kasab’s bullets with just a baton and gave up his life for the real perpetrators of the 26/11 attack on Mumbai to be identified.
While there has always been a whisper that between the government of the day in India and the Pakistani authorities, there was a concerted attempt to create and pin the blame for various terror attacks on a manufactured concept of “saffron terror”, it is the first time that a Hindi film details the plot hatched on both sides of the border.
In 2008, “saffron terror” was a creation desperately required by those in power who sought to keep out the rising influence of Hindutva-led political forces. It also suited Pakistan which needed to deflect attention from the international gaze on the country as the breeding ground of terrorism.
In real life, it was the names of Sadhvi Pragya and Lt Col Prasad Purohit that came up as the victims of the plot hatched in Delhi. It allowed Pak terrorists to walk free while pinning the blame for the Samjhauta Express blast, the Malegaon bomb blasts and the 26/11 attack on “saffron terror”.
Taking off from the book ‘The Game Behind Saffron Terror’ by Retd Col Kanwar Khatana, Gaekwad makes a surprisingly well-narrated beginning as he builds the intelligence gathering brilliance and bravery of Indian officer Avinash Patwardhan (Vineet Kumar Singh).
Writers Sameer Garud and Anuj S Mehta also spell out the political frustrations in Delhi and Pakistan which led to the creation of the saffron terror narrative. By the time the 26/11 attacks happen in Mumbai, the viewer is acquainted with the politics that unfolded in Delhi and Islamabad. On the Pak side were also forces like Hafeez Saeed for whom peace between India and Pakistan as symbolised by the Samjhauta Express meant the end of his flourishing terror industry.
Gaekwad also gives glimpses of hardliners like Zakir Naik, even Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, to draw a clear picture of how invested Musharraf-led Pakistan was in wanting India to bleed.
It was only when Omble caught Kasab alive and the Pak hand in the 26/11 attacks became undeniable that the saffron colour sought to be given to terror activity in India fell as an unproven wishful theory.
There are two excellent departments that bring life to the narration. One is definitely Vineet Kumar Singh whose competence gives sincerity to Avinash Patwardhan as he disguises himself chameleon-like to gather intel and help foil many an attack on India. As his wife, Anuja Sathe is pleasantly credible.
The film is also well shot (cinematography: Gaekwad + Ninad Gosavi).
However, if the makers wanted to tell the story of the game behind the saffron terror theory to a larger audience, they miss the opportunity with a series of blunders. One, the title itself is misleading, giving the flavour of a cricket scam and not of potent political content. Two, poorly marketed, practically nobody from the target audience has even heard of the film or knows what it’s about. Three, it is inordinately long. Scenes like a flashback with the background song ‘Aashiana mera bhi tha’ when Avinash is in jail, were not required as his happy family life was effectively established much earlier. Raj Arjun is a good actor but the long scenes featuring him as the Pak brain behind Hindu terror and his unending speech before 26/11 induce slumber. Much of the politics of Pakistan could also have been avoided.
Trimming the telling by at least 20 minutes would have kept it crisper.
It is a pity that what could’ve been an important cinematic document will thus go unnoticed.
Match Fixing Movie – Watch Or Not?: Wait for it to reach an OTT platform so that the fast forward button may be
generously used.
Match Fixing Movie Review Score Rating: 2.5 out of 5 (i.e. 2.5/5)
Match Fixing Movie Official Trailer:
Match Fixing Official Trailer (Credits:Art Arena Creations)
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Read on Lehren - Match Fixing Movie Review: Delhi Plot Foiled By Brave Mumbai Cop
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