Daily Times

After the much-hyped Kabir Singh in 2019, Shahid Kapoor will soon be back on screens with Jersey. A remake of the National Award-winning Telugu film of the same name, the film will see Shahid play Arjun, a failed cricketer who decides to fulfil his dream of representing Team India for his son. On Tuesday, the makers dropped the trailer, and we can say that this is one remake that’s worth the wait.

The trailer gives a sneak peek into the life of an unemployed Arjun, who has to ask money from his wife to buy his son a birthday gift. When she refuses, he goes on to steal from her purse. His only quest in life is to make his child happy and proud of him. We are also treated to some flashbacks where he is on a rampage on the cricket field. A star cricketer, his first love was snatched away from him, and now when he decides to get back to it, his family threatens to leave him.

It’s heartening to see Shahid Kapoor play a father on screen, who struggles to gain respect in his son’s eyes. Apart from the onscreen bond, the real-life endearing connection of Shahid and Pankaj Kapur is noteworthy. Mrunal Thakur seems to have aced the hero’s wife act, who supports, shuns and romances him. While Shahid has somehow managed to age backwards and look like a college-goer in the flashback scenes, he is yet to come out from the Kabir Singh mode while enacting aggression and pain.

Jersey looks like the perfect Bollywood film with family drama, romance, sports and a dash of action in it.

The original sports drama, directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, won awards in the Best Telugu Film and Best Editing categories at the 67th National Film Awards in 2019.

Earlier during an Instagram live, Shahid Kapoor said that before he saw success with Kabir Singh in 2019, he was “unhappy” with the way his career was shaping up. “I watched Jersey before Kabir Singh. The time when I saw it, I was unhappy. I used to think where my career would go, what I will do next. So, I could relate to the story of Jersey, which is about late success. It’s about a man who finds glory at a time when people retire,” the actor said.

He also heaped praise on Nani, saying that the Telugu actor was so good in the role that he made him “cry four-five times”. Shahid also revealed that many dissuaded him from doing the Jersey remake, saying that he should avoid playing his age after featuring as a college boy in Kabir Singh.

Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey will hit screens on December 31.