Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India cited the film as a "total knockout" and wrote: "The not-just-a-boxing film must not be missed as it puts forth a message that's most relevant in today's world."[46] The Hindu's Namrata Joshi wrote: "This is in no way a celebration of sports but a hard-nosed look at the rampant corruption, nepotism and casteist politics at the core of games, and life in general, especially their centrality in Uttar Pradesh."[47] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV praised Hussain and Zoya's performances and the treatment of cow vigilantism and wrote: "Watch it because it is one of the more important films to have come out of the Mumbai movie industry in recent times."[48]