Random Ramblings of a Reluctant Blogger

 For a generation of
Indians, the 1983 Cricket World Cup win was, and still remains, a seminal
moment for sports. And to reprise that in a movie is always fraught with
danger. That ’83 the movie is able to pull it off is in itself commendable.

India’s campaign had  all the elements of blockbuster story _ the triumph of an underdog.
(The odds of Indians winning the World Cup was 66-1). And nothing in sports
comes closer to it than that.

Not having seen much
sporting triumph, except for the 1975 hockey World Cup, the win has been
singularly responsible for cricket to where it is now. Being the domain of the
Whiteman, the decades of West Indian dominance notwithstanding, the Asian shift
to a very large extent goes to that day in Lord’s.

Every moment, every catch,
every wicket, especially the semifinal and the final, has been imprinted on the
minds of every cricket fan. Discussed, dissected, delineated and deliberated
often, it yet retains the flavour to tug at the emotional bond.

And it is that very nuance
that the filmmaker has been able to tug at. With keeping it all about cricket,
with just the right amount of drama, he has been able to avoid the death trap.
Ensuring that the actors, who have all put it their utmost, get the actions,
especially with regard to the game, right has been to a large extent made it
watchable.

One could argue that
instead of a movie, one could have had a documentary on the lines of ‘Fire in
Babylon.’  Well, it still can be made and it too will have its fans. But
for a huge generation of Indians, documentary means the films division reels
that used to shown before the movie!

That the movie expertly
avoids the documentary trap and yet keeps the story alive, considering that
there aren’t any surprises that the director could rely on, is akin to our
Granny tale.

So often have our granny
told us the same story with the very same ending and yet kept us asking for
more. From time to time, she would just add that little extra emotion, that
little twist and though we knew how it ends we would still stay enthralled. It
is much so with this movie.

Of course, there are those
avoidable cliches and irritants which could have been certainly done away with.
(Still can give it the scissor). And it is to the strength of the story that these are soon forgotten.

That the actors haven’t tried to be more than who
they are on screen (Ranveer included!) just helps the image in the memory stay
as fresh as it were.

I walked in with trepidation that it would spoil
those wonderfully stored images and walked out soapy. Couldn’t stop the tears.
Yes, all these years.

  You see how important has been that victory
and it is to that memory, the movie stayed true. And so, it worked. I would in
no way classify it as classic, cult or otherwise, but will certainly say it
works.