83 : Kapil's Devils and The Roaring Audience

With huge expectation and little faith, I went to watch 83 and I must say that the film has surpassed my expectations by a mile. Kabir Khan, bow down as you've created one of the greatest cricket movies of all time which has success written all over it.

Before I delve into the plot, I just wanna show my gratitude towards Kabir Khan who has helmed this project and has done such a wonderful job. I always consider a director's job to be the toughest as failures are a skid mark in an actor's career but the very same failure is how the world perceives a director with. The movies that you see shapes up your personality but the movie that you make shape your identity. This ideology is the sole reason why I always felt that the director's role in a project has more weightage. In fact since the initiation and sudden rise of OTT platforms, people have started watching movies and series based on the directors they've previously enjoyed watching. 

I believe after Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, this is the only biopic that has made me book tickets solely based on the trailer and without any previous knowledge about the characters as well as the story behind team India's fabulous victory. 

Coming back to Ranveer Singh, the man who has the ability to essay any role he has been offered. That man is a chameleon when it comes to acting. One of the finest actors that Bollywood has been blessed with. His impersonation of Kapil Dev is spot on and there is no moment where he loses his golden touch with the character. 

Kudos to Kabir Khan for bringing the entire team and giving proper screen time to all the players rather than just focusing on Kapil Dev. So let me add their performance in this review as well. You see, a team needs a captain but more importantly it requires a manager. P R Man Singh played by Pankaj Tripathi is just a sight for sore eyes. We come to know the hardships, the tribulations, the disrespect a manager has to go through when the team has a reputation for loosing. 

"35 Saal Pehle Azaadi Jeete Par Izzat Jeetna Abhi Baaki Hai Kaptaan" is a valid proof of the disrespect and hatred that Indian's went through off field.

This brings me to the other members of the team. Starting with Mohinder Amarnath aka Jimmy (Saqib Saleem), son of Lala Amarnath (Mohinder Amarnath) is the Vice Captain of the team and often provides the support for team's emotional stability at times when Kapil falters. Next in line is the legendary Sunil Gavaskar (Tahir Raj Bhasin) aka Sunny who was the opening batsman of Indian Cricket Team in the 83 World Cup. Then we have Krishnamachari Srikkanth aka Cheeka (Jiiva) who only knows attack and has zero idea of defense. One of the classic Cricket characters that I had fun watching on screen. Jiiva has nailed this role.    

We also have Roger Binny (Nishant Dahiya), Madan Lal (Harrdy Sandhu), Yashpal Sharma (Jatin Sarna), Balwinder Sandhu (Ammy Virk), Ravi Shastri (Dhairya Karwa), Sandeep Patil (Chirag Patil), Syed Kirmani (Sahil Khattar), Kirti Azad (Dinker Sharma), Sunil Valson (R Badree). Last but not the least Dilip Vengsarkar (Adinath Kothare) who was brutally injured by Malcolm Marshall's bouncer that hit him on the chin and this led to the absence of Dilip for the rest of the matches in the 83 world cup. 

The toughest part about making a biopic is the characterization of the person either living or dead. Let me tell you why. People have a notion of how the person looked like and how that person has lived so far. His actions, behavioral traits, etc. need to be captured by the actor taking up the role. Needless to say, all actors are very well casted and the impersonations of their respective characters are spot on. It never came out as caricature and hence I consider this to be a beautiful and effortless way of making a clean, classy and an appealing biopic wherein the movie is not centered around 1 character but the entire team and the people revolving around them as well. 

This is a classic case of how biopics are supposed to be made. All filmmakers out there can take lessons from Kabir Khan.

The background music has a league of its own. In some scenarios, the BGM is sufficient enough to induce the required adrenaline rush. The moment when "Lehra Do" starts playing, everyone from the audience was left teary eyed. The beauty of that scene and Arijit's voice is a deadly combination that can make a grown man cry. 

 All-in-all, I just wanna say, we as Indians have made a mark for ourselves and we are not gonna budge down now. As Kapil Dev says, "Taste success once, tongue wants more". 

This is entertainment best viewed on big screens so just avoid the negative and toxic reviews/comments all across the internet and watch it yourself. Trust me you're gonna enjoy it to the core.