Glorious moments of Indian cricket team

Movie: 83 (Kannada)

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Jiva

Director: Kabir Khan

Duration: 152.52 minutes

Ratings: 4 stars

Y Maheswara Reddy

Many of us might not have watched the glorious moments of the Indian cricket team winning their first World Cup Trophy in 1983. The movie “83” gives an insight into the experiences and challenges faced by the Indian cricket team during the World Cup. Director Kabir Khan has handled the megaphone with aplomb and he deserves appreciation for a crisp screenplay and sticking to the facts.

Though it is a dubbed version of the Hindi movie of the same name, the movie feels like it has been shot originally in Kannada. Lyrics and background music are super. The movie begins with the Indian cricket team manager Man Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) collecting cricket kits for the players selected to participate in the World Cup. The employees at the Indian Cricket Board were sceptical about the Indian cricket team winning the first match. Most of the cricket team members, except Kapil Dev (Ranveer Singh), are also not sure of winning any of the matches to be played with Zimbabwe, Australia and West Indies.

Meanwhile, Indian team manager Man Singh requests the England and Wales Cricket Board to provide entry passes to the Lord’s Cricket Ground for the Indian cricketers. But the Board refuses stating that the Indian team must to reach the semi-final in order to avail the passes. Will the Indian cricket team reach the semi-finals? How Kapil Dev motivates the team members and what are the problems he faces is the crux of the film. As far as the performance of the actors is concerned, Ranveer Singh walks away with all honours for his sterling performance. His body language, dialogue delivery and mannerism deserve appreciation. Jeeva, as Krishnamachri Srikanth, has given a credible performance. He, as a person who is ready to go to any extent for the sake of South Indian food, especially crispy dosa, and provides comic relief. Jatin Sharma, as Yashpal Sharma who pronounces acidity as STD, adds humour. Deepika Padukone, who acts as Romi Dev, Kapil’s wife, provides good support. Her performance in a scene where she motivates her husband and corrects his English - Do and Die as Do or Die - is good. Boman Irani and Pankaj Tripathi have done justice to their roles. The dialogues of the movie have the potential to motivate people, especially the youth.. We are here to win. What else are we here for? It shows that we can do it . The other USP of this movie is that the audiences can see cricket legends like Kapil Dev and Mohinder Amarnath on the screen while watching this movie.

Julius Packiam’s music is full of rhythm. Aseem Mishra has done a good job behind the camera.

All in all, “83” is a must-watch for cricket fans, especially the youth of today who did not have the opportunity to witness the glorious moment of the Indian cricket team holding the World Cup Trophy.