A Senegalese national lands in Kolkata on a covert little mission and unknowingly gets caught in the City Of Joy’s football frenzy. In a nutshell, this is the plot of the latest ZEE5 original Tiki-Taka that is full of laughs and has its heart in the right place.
Directed by the Parambrata Chattopadhyay who also plays a key role in the film, Tiki-Taka is a fast-paced, entertaining watch and also an ode to Kolkata’s obsession with soccer.
For the uninitiated, Tiki-Taka is a style of football involving fast and short passes without losing possession of the ball. And this serves as a metaphor for the storyline of the film too. Khelechi (played by Imona Enabulu) arrives in Kolkata from Senegal with a narcotics-laden football and then one thing leads to another, and his stay in the city turns into one big adventure.
Here’s the deal: to save his dying mother back home, Khelechi has to hand over the football to a paan-chewing, local drug lord named PK, played wonderfully by Saswata Chatterjee. However, in a case of mistaken identity, PK’s henchmen pick up the wrong person, while Khelechi’s paths cross with cab driver Raju (played by Parambrata Chattopadhyay), and this is where the real fun begins.
Raju spins a fictional tale around Khelechi being a renowned football player to a ‘breaking news’ hungry reporter Bonnie (played by Ritabhari Chakraborty). Soon enough, Khelechi becomes an overnight local celebrity and the whole city gets talking about him. There are football clubs vying for him. He’s the subject of news bulletins.
There’s a big football tournament coming up in the city and the only question everyone’s asking is - which team will Khelechi play for?
Even as all this is happening, what anchors the film throughout is the rather unique friendship between Raju and Khelechi. Yes, Raju lies about Khelechi. Yes, communication is a major problem between them because of language issues. But with all this, they share a warm, emotional relationship that is free of any form of malice or deceit. It’s one of the best onscreen friendships we’ve seen in a long time. The football match towards the end is definitely one of the high points in the film. Now, we’re not telling you anything more as we might end up giving out spoilers.
Parambrata not only manages to win your hearts as cab driver Raju but also proves what a great director he is and how well he understands human emotions. As Khelechi, a man trapped in a mess for no fault of his, Imona leaves a lasting impression.
Tiki-Taka has a running time of nearly 1 hour 45 minutes, and is told by way of a flashback with Raju narrating the story to two filmmakers.
Verdict
At its core, Tiki-Taka is a human story, and that’s what makes it so watchable and relatable.
It’s said that football is a part of Kolkata’s DNA and this comes alive beautifully in the film.
We’re giving it 4/5 stars and recommend that you put it right on top of your ‘Things to watch on the weekend’ list!
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