83 movie review: Ranveer Singh and team have hit a six with this Kabir Khan directorial

History is created once, and it was years back in 1983 when India won the World Cup. The glorious victory not just penned a new journey for Indian cricket but also changed the game for the country. From “Indians and Dogs are not allowed,” to the world looking at India with respect, Kapil Dev’s men played more than a cricket tournament. The whole nation drew confidence from the visuals of Dev lifting the trophy and popping the champagne. Kabir Khan already had gold in hand when he chose this subject to make a film. However, it came with a bigger task – will he be able to recreate the historical feat. Will he manage to take the audience some 40 years back and make them feel the same euphoria? Will he do justice to the sport and the real-life heroes? Well, friends, he has passed the test and that too with flying colours.

I watched the film three days back at a press screening in Mumbai. And I think I haven’t yet stopped thinking about 83. I might have already consumed each and every video available on YouTube on the original team, and watched the matches, even if it’s of poor quality. And that’s what the film does to you. While like most Bollywood films it has its moment of drama and humour, but at the heart of it, the Kabir Khan directorial pays homage to these heroes that our generation doesn’t really know much about. Thanks to social media, Virat Kohli is the most followed Indian on Instagram and for the paps, we are privy to his every moment. But do we know enough of Madan Lal, Kriti Azad or even a Yashpal Sharma? Do we know how they managed to do the unthinkable by getting the World Cup home? Clearly not!

Interestingly, not just the people and management, the team also never thought they would manage the feat. They would initially laugh at the vision of their “mad, idiot” captain Kapil Dev, the Haryana Hurricane. However, when the media started pointing how they won out of sheer fluke, did the team know they had to prove their worth. When in the sea of West Indies flag, a child carried the Indian flag cheering them with hope, they knew they could not disappoint the little one. When a journalist sneers at Kapil’s ‘we are here to win’ statement, Shrikant (played wonderfully by Jiiva) has an emotional outburst. He reveals that while most of them did come for a paid vacation, their captain’s faith in them has made them believe in themselves. And they will make their captain return home happy only with the Cup.

Coming to performances, while Ranveer Singh sinks his teeth deep into the part almost becoming Kapil Dev, the other actors too have done a tremendous job. Be it Jiiva, Jatin Sarna (Yashpal Sharma), Harrdy Sandhu (Madan Lal), Ammy Virk (Balvinder Singh Sandhu), Nishant Dahiya (Roger Binny), Saqib Saleem (Mohinder Amarnath) or Sahil Khattar (Syed Karmani), each actor has outdone themselves. Also, it’s not just the physical similarities that will strike you but each one of them caught the style, mannerism, lingo and overall persona perfectly. Hats off to Mukesh Chhabra and his team for hitting a six with the casting.

Having started his career as a documentary director, Kabir Khan once again aces as a researcher. But what really holds special is how he has used certain real-life footage in between shots, and even used the same format fonts while depicting scores on the screen. These small nuances add up to the overall feel and take you back in time. There are multiple moments in ’83’ when you will feel a lump in your throat, and then soon joy gushes in. As for the climax, we all know what happened but when you see the boys running joyously with the crowds running behind them, you will not be able to stop yourself from joining in the celebration.

’83’ is such an important film in today’s time because it reeks of hope and zeal. It also shows how sports can unite a fighting nation. How that one spark of victory ignites a new generation (spoiler: you do see a young Sachin Tendulkar celebrating and pledging to one day play for India). Watch the film, take your parents, uncle, aunties, children and even neighbours. The one who has witnessed the moment back then will be touched by nostalgia, and for the ones who were born later, there’s no bigger inspiration than seeing Kapil’s Devil journey through blood and sweat to bring home the trophy.

By a member of Barak Bulletin’s editorial board