83

It is a 2021 INdian Hindi language sports drama. Written & directed by Kabir Khan. Produced by Deepika Padukone, Kabir Khan & others.It is based on the India national cricket team led by Kapil Dev which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup.

It stars Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiiva & many others. Made on a budget of 280 crores, it made 103.73 crores at the box office. Available on the OTT platforms it has been viewed by many.

It was a dream accomplished by a captain who was a hard worker & a person of conviction. Our generation who saw rise of a captain unparalleled have seen these events unfolding in front of our eyes! He is the best example of getting his priorities right! Leading from the front, with the only goal of his country to be made proud !! No wonder the manager calls him a true’ freedom fighter ‘!!! Which he is, and something more for us, a motivator!!!!

It is Kapil all the way. It is a story of a man who single handedly follows his dream & makes his team realise the dream. Unselfish & encouraging all to see the target.

The invincible West Indies team till then had a battery of bowlers who could injure or bowl to discourage the batsman. To stand their at the crease & not be deterred by the rising ball was in itself the greatest achievement! Injured Vengsarkar made them determined to fight till the end. It was a bloody battle.

The weather, the attitude, the diet everything was at odds & yet they achieved the unthinkable for us! It was just the beginning of the golden era of cricket in India!! The feeling that ‘You can win’ means a lot.

Rising up from being the ‘underdogs’ to a wonder was difficult to digest & made people think that it was a fluke! It wasn’t. It was a dream achieved after sheer hard work & rising above all the prejudices.

It was something that happened right under their noses & the win at Lords meant more for the underprivileged. Winning the world cup was supremacy over an alien game in an alien country, in front of people who always had stuck their noses in the air. It was freedom from the feelings of inferiority. It meant established identity.

A young Sachin watching it on TV shows just how the youngsters got motivated. It did not remain a game but a dream to achieve something more for the budding cricketers.

A dream re lived. It may not be the best of films. But it will always remain a reminder of what it was like in 83! An archive for the gen next.