# Ghoomer (घूमर)
**Ghoomer** (घूमर) is a 2023 Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by [R. Balki](https://www.edgepedia.org/r-balki), starring Saiyami Kher as a batting prodigy who loses her right hand in an accident and is retrained as a bowler by a failed former cricketer played by [Abhishek Bachchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/abhishek-bachchan).[1](https://www.hopeproductions.in/work/ghoomer/) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/ghoomer/cast/2030573177/) The title refers both to a traditional spinning dance form of India and to the new style of bowling the coach and player invent in the film.[1](https://www.hopeproductions.in/work/ghoomer/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Theatrical release on 18 August 2023; world premiere at the 14th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne on 12 August 2023[3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ghoomer/cast/) • [4](https://www.zee5.com/movies/details/ghoomer/0-0-1z5454041?af_deeplink=true&af_dp=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.zee5.com%252Fmovies%252Fdetails%252Fghoomer%252F0-0-1z5454041&af_web_id=a0fdd4e7-dd7f-4398-aae7-c4dcd554273e-o&af_xp=social&campaign=Ghoomer_WatchNow&deep_link_value=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.zee5.com%252Fmovies%252Fdetails%252Fghoomer%252F0-0-1z5454041&media_source=Social_instagram&shortlink=GhoomerOnZEE5&source_caller=ui) |
| Director and writers | R. Balki, co-writing with Rahul Sengupta and Rishi Virmani[1](https://www.hopeproductions.in/work/ghoomer/) |
| Lead cast | Saiyami Kher as Anina, Abhishek Bachchan as Padam Singh Sodhi (Paddy), with Shabana Azmi, Angad Bedi, and a special appearance by Amitabh Bachchan[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15944428/fullcredits/) • [3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ghoomer/cast/) |
| Producers | Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Abhishek A Bachchan, Gauri Shinde, Wg Cdr Ramesh Pulapaka (Retd), and Anil Naidu[1](https://www.hopeproductions.in/work/ghoomer/) |
| Music | Amit Trivedi; lyrics by Swanand Kirkire and Kausar Munir[1](https://www.hopeproductions.in/work/ghoomer/) |
| Runtime and ratings | 2 hours 15 minutes; Rotten Tomatoes 75%, IMDb 7.6/10 from about 12,000 votes[6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/ghoomer) |
| Re-release | Returned to theaters on 7 November 2025 to celebrate the Indian women's cricket team's World Cup win[7](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/hindi/news/2025/Nov/05/celebrating-indian-womens-cricket-teams-world-cup-win-r-balkis-ghoomer-to-re-release-in-theatres) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Anina Dixit is a batting prodigy on the verge of her international debut for India. On the eve of that first match, a car accident takes her right hand, and the selectors look for her replacement.[8](https://www.netflixmovies.com/ghoomer-2023) • [9](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ghoomer/) Padam Singh Sodhi, known as Paddy, is a failed and frustrated test cricketer and a heavy drinker who had publicly humiliated Anina before her selection.[9](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ghoomer/) • [4](https://www.zee5.com/movies/details/ghoomer/0-0-1z5454041?af_deeplink=true&af_dp=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.zee5.com%252Fmovies%252Fdetails%252Fghoomer%252F0-0-1z5454041&af_web_id=a0fdd4e7-dd7f-4398-aae7-c4dcd554273e-o&af_xp=social&campaign=Ghoomer_WatchNow&deep_link_value=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.zee5.com%252Fmovies%252Fdetails%252Fghoomer%252F0-0-1z5454041&media_source=Social_instagram&shortlink=GhoomerOnZEE5&source_caller=ui) On her birthday he offers her a new dream, not sympathy: to become an expert bowler bowling with her left hand.[9](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ghoomer/)
After initial resistance, Anina trains under Paddy using unconventional techniques, and the two invent a new style of spin bowling they call Ghoomer, named after a traditional spinning dance form of India that the coach and player use as a weapon.[8](https://www.netflixmovies.com/ghoomer-2023) • [1](https://www.hopeproductions.in/work/ghoomer/) The training allows her to play for the Indian cricket team again, this time as a bowler.[2](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/ghoomer/cast/2030573177/) The film's makers describe its premise as two people who use each other, without a shred of sympathy for the other's misfortune, to fulfill their near-impossible individual dreams.[1](https://www.hopeproductions.in/work/ghoomer/)
## Production and inspiration
The story idea of a one-handed bowler was cracked by Rahul Sengupta, and the script began as fiction about a para-athlete before the writers found inspiration in the Hungarian shooter Karoly Takacs, who won two Olympic gold medals with his left hand after his right hand was seriously injured.[10](https://www.mid-day.com/amp/entertainment/bollywood-news/article/rishi-virmani-on-creating-ghoomer-with-r-balki-it-started-off-as-fiction-and-then-found-inspiration-23305053?button=next) • [11](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ghoomer/critic-review/ghoomer-movie-review/on-the-whole-ghoomer-rests-on-abhishek-bachchan-and-saiyami-khers-performances-and-some-well-executed-scenes/)
The film was produced under the banners Hope Film Makers and Saraswati Entertainment, with Vishal Sinha as cinematographer, Nipun Ashok Gupta as editor, and Sandeep Sharad Ravade as production designer.[1](https://www.hopeproductions.in/work/ghoomer/) • [12](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/ghoomer-2023) Balki said he saw the film not as a typical sports biopic but as a contribution to the sport itself, uncovering something the game had never witnessed.[13](https://www.hopeproductions.in/news/r-balki-looks-back-at-ghoomer-i-make-a-film-because-theres-a-story-i-want-to-tell/)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed to positive. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 75% critics' score from 12 reviews, and IMDb users rate it 7.6 out of 10 from about 12,000 votes.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/ghoomer) Reviewers singled out the two leads: [The Week](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-week) called Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher brilliant and credited the parallel narrative of tragedy, guilt, redemption, and forgiveness with making the film compelling.[14](https://www.theweek.in/review/movies/2023/08/18/ghoomer-review-formulaic-but-compelling-sports-drama.html) India Today found the intentions right but the execution uneven, arguing the climax focused on Anina's individual skill at the expense of teamwork.[15](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/ghoomer-review-abhishek-bachchan-saiyami-khers-film-has-right-intentions-but-lacks-finesse-2422834-2023-08-18) The trade magazine Film Information reported a weak opening, attributing the commercial outlook partly to the release date falling between the strong-running [Gadar 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/gadar-2) and the imminent [Dream Girl 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/dream-girl-2).[16](https://filminformation.com/featured/ghoomer-review-18-august-2023/)
At award ceremonies the film received 6 wins and 13 nominations, including Filmfare Critics' Award nominations for Best Actor (Abhishek Bachchan) and Best Actress (Saiyami Kher), a Filmfare nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Shabana Azmi, and a News18 REEL Movie Award for Best Director for R. Balki.[17](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15944428/awards/)
## Later life of the film
Ghoomer premiered digitally on ZEE5 on 10 November 2023 and remains available on that platform in India.[9](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ghoomer/) • [6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/ghoomer) After the Indian women's cricket team won the World Cup, the film returned to theaters nationwide on 7 November 2025. Balki noted that the team's winning matches were played at the same stadium where Ghoomer was shot, calling the film a tribute to women's cricket and the resilience of women cricketers.[7](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/hindi/news/2025/Nov/05/celebrating-indian-womens-cricket-teams-world-cup-win-r-balkis-ghoomer-to-re-release-in-theatres) [Academic writing](https://www.edgepedia.org/academic-writing) on [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema) has since grouped Ghoomer with films such as Iqbal and [Chandu Champion](https://www.edgepedia.org/chandu-champion) that use sport as a space in which protagonists with disabilities prove their self-worth against able-bodied expectations.[18](https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/4a926452-699c-48b4-9375-389a80bc7758/content)
## References
1. [Ghoomer, Hope Productions](https://www.hopeproductions.in/work/ghoomer/)
2. [Ghoomer - Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/ghoomer/cast/2030573177/)
3. [Ghoomer Cast List, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ghoomer/cast/)
4. [Watch Ghoomer Full Movie Online on ZEE5](https://www.zee5.com/movies/details/ghoomer/0-0-1z5454041?af_deeplink=true&af_dp=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.zee5.com%252Fmovies%252Fdetails%252Fghoomer%252F0-0-1z5454041&af_web_id=a0fdd4e7-dd7f-4398-aae7-c4dcd554273e-o&af_xp=social&campaign=Ghoomer_WatchNow&deep_link_value=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.zee5.com%252Fmovies%252Fdetails%252Fghoomer%252F0-0-1z5454041&media_source=Social_instagram&shortlink=GhoomerOnZEE5&source_caller=ui)
5. [Ghoomer (2023) - Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15944428/fullcredits/)
6. [Ghoomer streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/ghoomer)
7. [Celebrating Indian Women's Cricket Team's World Cup win, R Balki's Ghoomer to re-release in theatres, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/hindi/news/2025/Nov/05/celebrating-indian-womens-cricket-teams-world-cup-win-r-balkis-ghoomer-to-re-release-in-theatres)
8. [Ghoomer (2023) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/ghoomer-2023)
9. [Ghoomer Movie, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ghoomer/)
10. [Rishi Virmani on creating `Ghoomer` with R Balki: It started off as fiction and then found inspiration](https://www.mid-day.com/amp/entertainment/bollywood-news/article/rishi-virmani-on-creating-ghoomer-with-r-balki-it-started-off-as-fiction-and-then-found-inspiration-23305053?button=next)
11. [Ghoomer Movie Review, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/ghoomer/critic-review/ghoomer-movie-review/on-the-whole-ghoomer-rests-on-abhishek-bachchan-and-saiyami-khers-performances-and-some-well-executed-scenes/)
12. [Ghoomer (2023), Tuli Research Centre for India Studies](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/ghoomer-2023)
13. [R. Balki looks back at Ghoomer, Hope Productions](https://www.hopeproductions.in/news/r-balki-looks-back-at-ghoomer-i-make-a-film-because-theres-a-story-i-want-to-tell/)
14. ['Ghoomer' review, The Week](https://www.theweek.in/review/movies/2023/08/18/ghoomer-review-formulaic-but-compelling-sports-drama.html)
15. [Ghoomer Review, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/ghoomer-review-abhishek-bachchan-saiyami-khers-film-has-right-intentions-but-lacks-finesse-2422834-2023-08-18)
16. ['GHOOMER' REVIEW, Film Information](https://filminformation.com/featured/ghoomer-review-18-august-2023/)
17. [Ghoomer (2023) - Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15944428/awards/)
18. [Sports and disability in Indian cinema, ANU Open Research Repository](https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/4a926452-699c-48b4-9375-389a80bc7758/content)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2020s › Hindi films of 2023*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license