‘Biker’ movie review: This sports drama is predictable, but still has plenty going for it

Motocoss gives a new turn to the familiar beats in director Abhilash Reddy’s emotionally-steeped sports drama, and Sharwanand reclaims his spot under the sun

There are times when a filmmaker chooses to not reinvent the wheel or the story, to be precise. But a new setting lets it breathe. The broad contours of the storyline, sub plots and character arcs in director Abhilash Reddy’s Telugu sports drama, Biker are familiar. Motocross, a sport that has rarely or perhaps never been explored in Indian cinema, gives it a new sheen. The cutting-edge audio-visual landscape and worthwhile performances make it fairly engaging. 

At a time when the catchphrase ‘world-building’ is casually thrown around, and often limited to creating make-believe worlds aided by heavy use of visual effects, it is refreshing to watch a film unfold in real locations. The dust-laden, bumpy off-roading circuits and a landscape where the plains are fringed by the horizon add to the visual aesthetic.

Biker follows a non-linear format of storytelling, moving between the 1990s, 2000s and occasionally the 80s, to present a story of two generations of fathers and sons. When the film opens with glimpses of an almost picture-perfect happy family — Vikas Narayan (Sharwanand), Ananya (Malvika Nair) and their young son, peppered with playful turns in school and home, it’s endearing to witness. But an unmistakable question arises — where’s the lie?

Abhilash peels back the layers to reveal strained family ties, with scars from the past that can heal only when a champion reclaims his throne.

The setting is Coimbatore, one of the cities where motocross thrives. While the film primarily revolves around Telugu-speaking people, it seamlessly uses multiple languages wherever required to maintain the authenticity.

In an early scene, when Vikas’s young son, in a biker suit, declares that his father is his superhero and that he loved his father’s motocross photograph of the past, it’s hard to not think of Gowtam Tinnanuri’sJersey. Abhilash tips his hat to that celebrated sports drama through several moments, almost as though intending his film to its spiritual successor. Simultaneously, he also draws thematically from his debut web-series Loser (a sports and family drama) and debut feature film Maa Nanna Superhero, a father-son story.