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Big Bang Moment: '83 promises FIREWORKS

December 01, 2021 07:42 IST

Like India's '83 World Cup campaign itself, the movie looks like a rollicking ride, notes Deepti Patwardhan.

1983 changed Indian sport forever.

India won the cricket World Cup in England, the country of its birth.

Cricket leapfrogged Olympic disciplines, like hockey, to become the most popular sport in the country.

It has ruled Indian television and Indian hearts ever since.

 

Kabir Khan's much-awaited movie '83 documents the Big Bang moment of Indian cricket. And the trailer promises fireworks.

The trailer transports you to a different time and different world: Ranveer Singh wears whites, and rather than sitting atop their money mountain, Indians are the decided underdogs in cricket.

It's the West Indians, with superstar Vivian Richards in its ranks, that bring the swagger.

At the outset, Ranveer Singh is easily identifiable and convincing as Kapil Dev.

He walks with the same understated confidence and talks with the lilt of Haryanvi accent, coaxing the team to become more than a sum of its parts.

'I saw before, we here to win,' Ranveer, a la Kapil, tells a disbelieving media.

The trailer, which begins with the 'double thrashing' India received from West Indies and Australia early in the tournament, is charged with moments of sporting brilliance and social contextualising.

India was still big in cricket, but not big enough for its team to be received, or picked up, at the airport.

While cricket made space for the athleticism of the swashbuckling West Indians, it was still a sport ruled by the white countries.

The trailer lays ground for the odds stacked against 'Kapil's Devils' in 1983.

'We may have gained independence 35 years ago but we haven't won respect yet, captain,' manager PR Man Singh tells Kapil.

We see why it is more than just a game for the expatriate Indians still struggling to gain respect in England.

We see how the game went on to become a symbol of unity and celebration across the country.

Set on the lush cricket grounds in England, it is a story of how India fit in the world cricket and how they eventually broke the mould.

For the sport enthusiast, there's a peek at the famous Lord's locker room and gallery.

Deepika Padukone, with hair straight out of Ranveer's look-book, makes an appearance as Romi Dev.

India's television boom was still a few years away when the 1983 World Cup was won but over the years, we have watched the iconic moments of Kapil Dev pocketing the catch off Viv Richards or pitch invasion following India's incredible win in the final.

All those scenes are revisited and revived.

Like India's '83 World Cup campaign itself, the movie looks like a rollicking ride.

DEEPTI PATWARDHAN