Bombers, a sports drama revolving around football premiered on ZEE5 on 22nd June. The six-episode web series is a tale of redemption, resurgence and finding one’s identity. It talks about characters who lose their focus in life and how football brings them back together.
Directed by Vishal Furia and scripted by Vishal Kapoor, Bombers is set in a quaint town of Chandannagar in West Bengal which used to be a French colony. The town’s rich French heritage influences the passion for football amongst its residents who root for France during world cups.
#BombersFC is one such football club in Chandanagar which loses all its players in a tragic bus accident except Badol, the captain of the club. While Badol feels lost and constantly fights with his inner demons, a politician named Manik Dasgupta tries to take over the club ground by commissioning a shopping mall. The only way to retain the ground is by building a team from scratch.
The idea of a football team being obliterated in an accident has been inspired by real-life tragedies, such as the 1958 airplane accident that ended the lives of 11 members of the Manchester United team, and the 1993 airplane accident that killed all members of the Zambian football team.
Bombers FC’s owner Somu brings in one of the club’s former players, Debu, to coach a new team with Badol as captain. The plan is to win the Zee Bangla Football League, an actual West Bengal-based tournament started by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, which owns Zee5. Meanwhile, the journey of the club is being documented by documentary filmmaker Andy.
The series goes back and forth in the past and present with an easy flowing simple plot. The casts Varun Mitra (Badol), Anup Soni (Manik Sengupta) and Debu (Ranvir Shorey) have done justice to their roles. Bombers also star Zakir Hussain, Sapna Pabbi, Aahana Kumra and Meiyang Chang in key roles.
Varun Mitra is the star of this series and Ranvir Shorey proves his mettle as a performer. The biggest challenge in a sports drama is to turn the actors into as good as real sportsmen – this part has been efficiently taken care of. Sapna Pabbi, Aahana Kumra both deliver acting brilliance as always and stay true to their characters. Prince Narula won our hearts in all the frames he appeared in.
Football star Sunil Chettri also made his digital debut with Bombers.
The series also bluntly talks about classism by addressing the two most taboo topics in India- gay relations and red-light districts. Every character has its own story and there are moments which will make you say #GoBombers.
Writer Vishal Kapoor gets the nuances of Bengali culture right and keeps the essence of the sport intact throughout the series. Bombers is not only an extraordinary story of sportsmanship and overcoming hardships together but also is a visual treat for all the football lovers.
Bombers is made subliminal by its music. The original songs- be it the title track, the rap or the club anthem- create the sports drama vibe, hyping you up.
The show intends to support a special program Education With a Kick of the Oscar Foundation. The program encourages underprivileged children to learn life skills to complete primary education.
The show promises an upcoming sequel which will make you want to watch #BombersBaarBaar.
Priya Ravinder
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