Yogesh Gandhi

*We're here to win (hearts)* Making a biopic based on a real sporting event is difficult. Making a one that will stand out for its idea, production, characterisation, script, and execition is even rarer. That 83 manages to do all that is as big (and a pleasant) surprise as that world cup win must have felt to everyone watching! By now it is no longer a secret that 83 is a box office hit. The trailer had left me with some doubts and serious apprehensions about whether the movie would do justice or end up as another drum beating, chest thumping fiasco as Bollywood is well capable of dishing out. Needless to say, there is some extra salt, but it doesn't spoil the dish. Frame by frame, you fall in love with the ingredients that make this film a rich cinematic delight. First and foremost is Ranveer Singh who has done a marvellous job of getting into the skin of Kapil Dev and delivers a performance worthy of watching over and over again. He walks like Kapil, talks like Kapil. But more importantly, bowls and bats like Kapil! That to me is really high class effort - for it is never easy to emulate an art perfected by a sportsman over a number of years. Through the 162 minutes, you soak in the emotion, you feel the turmoil, your blood boils, you laugh, your heart sinks, and your chest swells with pride as the story of an improbable world cup triumph unfolds in front of you. You start making connections with the real and the reel. You understand the strengths, vulnerabilities, mindsets, and varied backgrounds the heroes of 83 come from. They make you laugh, and they make you sigh. Each character punches above their weight to make you feel as close as you can get to that golden batch of cricketers who helped India find its place of pride in the sporting annals. The win did so much more to the nation. Beside Ranveer Singh, Pankaj Tripathi reigns supreme in the role of a team manager cum administrator cum everything else rolled into one delectable hyderabadi package. He steals the scenes everytime he appears on screen. Isn't that an achievement against the sporting backdrop that is otherwise supposed to be the main show? I mentioned about high quality of production earlier. Apart from getting the actions and mannerisms of players right. director Kabir Khan deserves a lot of praise for getting the replication of cricketing action to a very high degree of accuracy. Action is watchable just for the cricketing part of it. I will reserve the best of praise for getting this aspect right. It ensures as a close observer of the game, you aren't lost in finding faults. To have achieved this also during the two years of lockdown is a massive logistical win. Where the film falls short is the rather tame addition of political-communal context, the intimate conversations between the captain and his wife, a forced plug about Indo-Pak rivalry, and weaker depiction of support the team received on their campaign. It takes a little bit of gloss away from what is otherwise an excellent product. Now to the more important aspect: 83 relives the journey of a team and it's maverick captain to the generations who would have otherwise missed it in the mayhem of live action we are bombarded with. It shows us where we have come from. And for that, Kabir Khan and his crew deserve a massive round of applause. Finally a word for the man who made the miracle possible with his sheer conviction: Kapil paaji da jawaab nahin! #83TheFilm #KapilDev