Skater Girl review: Well-meaning but pale sports drama

Skater Girl

Hindi (Netflix)

Director: Manjari Makijani

Cast: Amrit Maghera, Rachel Saanchita Gupta, Waheeda Rehman

Rating: 2/5

Well-meaning but pale sports drama

Skater Girl

Vivek M V

‘Skater Girl’ is a superficial take on rural India. Sports dramas set in rustic environs must be arresting. But director Manjari Makijani exhibits zero creativity and unrolls the film in a dull manner.

Jessica (Amrit Maghera), a professional from London, visits a small village near Udaipur, Rajasthan. Knowing that her ancestors lived in the village, she aims to make a difference to the lives of the poor children there.

The skateboard provides a way out for these children, who can’t dream because of poverty. The most talented skater is Prerna (Rachel Saanchita Gupta), whose patriarchal father wants to get her married soon.

“When I asked what they want to become after growing up, the girls didn’t have an answer. That’s because they were never asked that question,” Jessica tells the Maharani of Rajasthan (Waheeda Rehman), while seeking land to build a skatepark in the village.

If this premise were presented in an engaging manner, ‘Skater Girl’ would have been a moving, feel-good film. However, the writing is pale throughout, showing us nothing we haven’t seen before. In the shaky narrative, the film feebly speaks about caste discrimination.

The dialogues are masked with artifice. For example, when Jessica’s friend Erik (Jonathan Readwin) interacts with the children, Prerana introduces herself with “My name means inspiration”. Which child opens up to strangers so easily?

You sense a constant struggle from the director to make a ‘great’ film, but it fails to draw you in, again showing that good thoughts aren’t enough to make good cinema.

If ‘Skater Girl’ had created interesting characters and introduced strong conflicts, it would have raced to victory. But it trips, falls and wipes off the dust to reach the podium. Prerana’s victory is the only consolation.