Inspirational stories about legendary sports persons have always fetched good box-office collections and reviews. Be it 'Dangal' or 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story' most of these movies proved to be landmarks. But these movies were sort of biopics and focused on the individual struggles of the sports persons. However, the recently released Jungle Cry led by Abhay Deol is far different from such biopics.
This thrilling sports drama directed by Sagar Ballary brings to light an untold real-life story involving 12 rural boys from Odisha who managed to register a historic win in England in 2007 at the Junior Rugby World Cup. Abhay Deol plays the role of Rudraksha Jena, the Indian Rugby coach from a Bhubaneswar-based private school, dedicated for tribal, who guided this team of young boys to emerge as the winner.
Emily Shah debuts as a physiotherapist in this flick produced by Prashanth Shah’s Bollywood Hollywood Productions. Stewart Wright, Atul Kumar, and Julian Lewis play important roles in Jungle Cry.
Another highlight of the movie is cameo appearances of some of the topmost names in the world of sports including Colin Charvis (former captain of Wales), Nigel Owens, the referee from Wales, and Phil Bennett, the fly-half of the British Lions.
Right from the start, you can feel that the movie is about rugby as the first shot begins with young tribal boys being shown fighting for a jar full of marbles. As the story unfolds and the stern coach Rudra Singh played by Abhay Deol makes an entry audience interested in sports drama is hooked. Although the storytelling is direct and honest, it has been presented in a quasi-documentary style. The audience will get goosebumps as the young boys from tribal areas of Odisha make it to Wales and give a tough fight to big competitors like Romania and South Africa. Jungle Cry can be enjoyed on Lionsgate Play and Amazon Prime Video.