Story:‘Stand By’ showcases the ugly picture of politics in sports (football), through a story of two players Rahul (Adhinath Kothare) and Shekhar (Siddharth Kher). Rahul, a brilliant player, succeeds to fulfill his poor father Damodar (Sachin Khedekar), an ex-football player’s dream, by becoming the captain of the Indian team. Shekhar on the contrary, being an undisciplined player, lands up as a standby. He along with his father, a powerful businessman Surendra Pal (Dalip Tahil), the President of the Indian Football Federation, Avtar Gill and Nagesh Bhonsle, tries his best to make it to the mainstream team by playing dirty politics with Rahul. Manish Choudhary, the coach of the Indian team, however, comes to Rahul’s rescue each time he is in trouble. Now, will Rahul sustain his position or will Shekhar replace him, forms the rest of the story.

Story Treatment:‘Stand By’ is very convincing with its approach, as far as the narration is concerned.  Though, the film doesn’t claim itself to be of suspense genre, the story-teller surprises one with the way each sub-plot unfolds mysteriously in the film. Extremely intelligent soccer games with no drama quotient keep one at the edge of the seat. Brilliant characterisation and frequent encounters of the characters, on the issue which has been tackled with powerful dialogues, make it an interesting watch.  

Star Cast: Sachin Khedekar is as usual top-notch as a determined father. Ditto for Dalip Tahil, who brings the much required class to his character. Siddharth Kher looks convincing as a spoilt brat, but needs to work on his dialogue delivery. Adhinath Kothare beautifully switches lane from a helpless player to a confident one. Avtar Gill and Surendra Pal play their parts well. Nagesh Bhonsle and Manish Choudhary spring up a surprise with commendable performances.

Direction: Initially, one fails to understand what makes Sanjay Surkar put antagonist Shekhar as a stand by, considering the title of the film. But as one gets slowly involved in the film, one comprehends that the title ‘Stand By’ doesn’t suggest the plight of a character, but the condition of the Football team in India which still is a stand by on the international level. Kudos to the four times National Award winner Surkar, who treats such a sensitive subject with great deal of maturity.

Music/ Cinematography/ Dialogues/Editing: Music although sounds good, hampers the flow of the screenplay. Cinematography is brilliant, especially the way the camera captures the moves of the players on the ground. Dialogues are powerful, as they make the film win half the battle. Editing could have been better.

3 Ups and 3 Downs: Pacy screenplay, dialogues, nice concept are the strong points of the film. Untimely music, editing and slightly poor look of the film are the drawbacks. On the whole, ‘Stand By’ comes as a breather amidst other releases. It's certainly a one-time watch.