Film: 83

Director: Kabir Khan

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiiva, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna, Chirag Patil, Dinker Sharma, Nishant Dahiya, Harrdy Sandhu, Sahil Khattar, Ammy Virk, Adinath Kothare, Dhairya Karwa, and R Badree

Rating: 4 out of 5

Story: 

The ever-growing tensions in the Indian team's dressing room suddenly faded away after a gigantic six from skipper Kapil Dev shattered the glass window and the red ball fall as the ray of hope among the disheartened Indian team at the time when India was struggling at 17 for 5 against Zimbabwe. Kabir Khan's 83, not just showcased India's miraculous maiden Cricket World Cup win but also touched upon the respect the underdogs earned across the world with the win.

The film kicked off with an introduction scene where the World Cup-winning Team India was presented before the audience, however, the scene also highlighted the fact that India was nowhere in the list of favourites to lift the title, even among the Indians. This only scene captured the interest of the audience as it combined the nationalistic feeling with a sense of pride that Indians feel till now after Kapil Dev's team brought home the first World Cup defeating all odds.

Review:

Pitted against the marvels of the cricketing World including the invincible West Indians and mighty Australians, it was very hard for the Indians to even think of lifting the World Cup. However, Kapil Dev's (played by Ranveer Singh) words during a pre-match press conference, 'As I say before, we here to win', filled the spirits of the Indian fans and the team to the core and what ensued is what we, as Indians, cheer till now and will remember for the rest of our lives.

83 perfectly encapsulates the roller-coaster journey of Team India during the 1983 Cricket World Cup hosted in England, the country which colonised India and from which we regained freedom some 33 years back. Till 1983, the image of Indian cricket was not of a World Cup-winning team but after 1983, the whole scenario changed and India became one of those countries where cricket is worshipped like a religion, courtesy achieving the unthinkable of winning the World Cup.

From Kapil Dev’s Iconic catch to Viv Richards’ dismissal in the final match and Mohinder Amarnath’s spells of swing bowling, the film chronicles many such moments from the two weeks which the team India spent in England. Not just the matches, Kabir Khan also tried to delicately unveil the emotions and journey of the Indian players that they are going through during their tour. Starting from Balwinder Sandhu's (played by Ammy Virk) personal loss before the big match to the clamorous equation between Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev and most importantly their hunger to win and shed the tag of underdogs.

Though the first half of the film didn't have many thrilling sequences it will surely catch your attention as it builds the momentum for what is about to come in the second half. At almost every stage in the film, Kabir Khan has perfectly juxtaposed real images with the reel ones, making one sit up and take note of the fact that he has heavily invested in research and recreation. And, in the second half, I bet you can't just take your eyes off the screen for a moment as it gets deep down your nerves and fills you with emotions with captivating sequences.

Acting and direction:

Making a sports drama on such a historic and miraculous happening was not an easy task as you can't go wrong with the facts, dialogues and appearances of the cast as it will lower the interest of the audience. However, the minute details and nuances that Kabir Khan has put into 83, spoke volumes about his dedication to this project. What caught my attention, particularly, the references Kabir Khan displayed to how a game of cricket can unite the people from all strata of society under one roof. Some scenes including that when a woman delivers her baby right during the final match and how the family named the child Kapil soon after the team lifted the World Cup, are heartwarming. Even while showing the personal stories of the players, Kabir has effortlessly blended it into the screenplay and it doesn’t seem like a forced attempt.

Talking about Ranveer Singh, he just made the portrayal of Kapil Dev an effortless task with many, including me, finding the actor Ranveer Singh but seeing Kapil Dev instead. From copying Kapil's body language to his bowling style and the recreation of his iconic Nataraj shot just proved his mettle as an actor. His hold on the language mixing Punjabi and broken English is quite how you would imagine Kapil Dev speaking back then.

Meanwhile, Ranveer should not solely be credited for the film but the other 10 members of the Indian team also supported him in pulling this task off. Each one of them, so convincingly, looked at the part they portrayed on screen. Ranveer's friendship with Mohinder Amarnath (played by Saquib Saleem) is unmissable and a treat to watch. Meanwhile, Tahir Raj Bhasin as Sunil Gavaskar, Jatin Sarna as Yashpal Sharma, Tamil actor Jiiva as Srikkanth, Ammy Virk as Balwinder Sandhu and Harrdy Sandhu as Madan Lal hold on to their characters and shine in each frame.

And how can one ignore Pankaj Tripathi playing the role of PR Man Singh, the team's manager. He added that missing punches of laughter but his role was not only limited to that but also the one who infuse the feeling of champions in the team members. Deepika Padukone as Romi Dev does justice to her role, however, apart from sitting in the stands and encouraging her husband with her enchanting smile, she was not seen in important moments of the film.

Verdict:

Despite the fact that I was born in the era of Sachin Tendulkar listening to thousands of Indians shouting Sachin, Sachin! and brought up in the generation of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when I walked out of the theatre, I felt the same every Indian would have felt after Kapil's Devils lifted not just the World Cup but the spirit of every Indian. Hence, I term 83 as marvellous which filled me with immense pride.