Panga

Story:

Panga is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari from a screenplay by Nitesh Tiwari. Produced and distributed by Fox Star Studios, the film stars Kangana Ranaut as the main protagonist with Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta and Richa Chadha in pivotal roles.

Shot largely in Panaji, Bhopal, Mumbai and Kolkata, the film was released in India on 24 January 2020.
The film and Ranaut’s performance received widespread critical acclaim. Several publications like Paste, Cosmopolitan, and Times of India cited Panga as one of the best films of the year 2020. Marie Claire named it as one of the best Bollywood films of all-time. In its theatrical run, Panga grossed ₹41.71 crore globally, emerging as the tenth highest-grossing film of the year.] For her performance in Panga, Ranaut won the National Film Award for Best Actress at the 67th National Film Awards. This was Ranaut’s third win in this best actress category and overall her fourth National Film Award.

PLOT

Jaya Nigam is a middle-class family reservation counter clerk and former Kabaddi champion living with her husband Prashant Sachdeva, a railway section engineer, and 7-year-old son Aditya “Adi” Sachdeva, in Bhopal. Despite the support of both Prashant and Adi, she regrets having to quit the sport after Adi’s birth.

Learning of her achievements through Prashant, Adi pushes her to return to the sport despite facing challenges of physical fitness and newer, more experienced players, while her friend, former teammate, and Kabaddi coach Meenal “Meenu” Singh, helps her with the training. Initially unable to deal with the pressures of a hectic job and the exercise routines that Adi’s enthusiasm pushes her through, she finally regains composure and, with support from Prashant and Adi, goes on to mark her comeback to the sport as a mother of a 7-year-old after her story gets noticed again.