83 : A one time watch for that epic English summer

They say, “You might win the war will never know how the battles were fought”.

That’s what 83 is all about - reliving and reviving that journey of being the underdogs 66-1 when no one gave them even the slightest chance worth even a penny. The performances and epic lines start from the first scene in itself although you will find comparisons and traces with `Chak de India` here and there. Thats bound to happen when there has been too few sports films. Pankaj Tripathi has some of the best lines which he delivers with such ease and conviction that it hits really hard. That one line he delivers after being denied entry pass to Lord`s at the start of the world cup - " आजादी तो सालों पहले मिल गयी, इज्ज़त मिलना अभी बाकी है " tops all the gut wrenching moments.

The movie brings you closer to the other players in the team and its not about just about Kapil alone- Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Madan Lal, Srikkant etc. and the rest. The running time of around 2.30 hours , a journey of all the matches from start to finish with the best shots being the creation of the famous incidents in the various matches versus West Indies with slow motion and then real footage being shown. The effort on that part shows. Like I said, you don’t know how the battles were fought- thats how they were done. In between all the matches which can feel like a documentary to those who have watched the replays on youtube, you really wish for more character banter between the players. The emotional parts whether they are created artificially to take creative liberties or not, can make you emotional- whether it be the crowd bereating players to win at least when 1 match to find that one flag being flown amongst the West Indies ones , it can choke you up.

Ranveer nails Kapil`s character to quite an extent but fails to exactly copy his bowling action, that’s not the trademark Kapil Dev action. The best match you might enjoy thoroughly is that India versus Zimbabwe never telecasted match as the mind has nothing to fall back on. Every match has its own warrior - someone, somewhere just put his hand up on the field. Be it Kirmani holding fort while Kapil went berserk or Sandhu hitting gold dust with the bat in the final. Deepika`s character could have been done away with - there`s literally nothing for her to do in the movie. On the contrary, Wamiqa Gabbi playing Madan Lal’s wife conveyed a lot more emotion through her eyes and expressions.

Music is nothing to write about- awesome music has become extinct from movies long back. Now all you have are just situational fillers and nothing else. Don’t watch the movie in 3D, there are simply not just enough shots to show for that. Instead go with the regular one, a you might be engrossed with the other audience in whistling, clapping, cheering.

I have grown up watching Kapil Dev where I used to wish other batters to get out quickly so that he could come to bat and wanted his every delivery get him a wicket. That level of obsession of childhood made me relive the journey again in this movie. Its a one-time watch with the chance for children of this era to understand what being an underdog really meant back then, before decades later, Ganguly and his men showed the same grit during that finest NatWest final chase.

Its a chance to relive how the war of the 83 world cup was won.