Proper Research, Sticking To Facts & Good Recreation: 83 Is India's Best Sports Flick Till Date

83 hit theatres on December 24, 2021. It was originally supposed to be on the big screens on April 10, 2020, but then COVID came into the picture. For those who are unaware, the movie is based on the success story of the Indian cricket team that won the 1983 World Cup by beating 2-time Champions West Indies. India were the underdogs and yet they made history by becoming only the 2nd team to claim the title in the 3rd edition. India became the first Asian World Champions.

The main issue in making a movie based on an actual event is to be as close to reality as possible. Authenticity, validation and realism play a huge role. Remember, 83 is not just inspired by a true story, but it is an actual depiction of a true incident in cricket history, so perfection, or at least close to perfection, is needed.

Proper research is important in this case. Speaking to the real heroes, getting proper accounts, making sure the actors studied their characters and also perfected their cricketing skills was important. It paid dividends on the screen when one witnessed the matches and at no point did the actors look like anything but actual players, be it in their game, mannerisms, looks and overall styles.

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Facts are a key ingredient during a film that is depicting a real event. Yes, embellishments are made and directors are known to take creative liberties at times, but a balance needs to be maintained. The likes of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story and Soorma along with Dangal were biopics and they did have their share of twists to make the story more interesting. Thankfully, when it comes to the sport at least, 83 has stuck to the main idea of keeping it as close to reality as possible. Yes, certain moments which may or may not have happened off the field are shown to give the movie a touch of Bollywood one might say, but they do not have much bearing on the original plot.

Next comes recreation. Yes, remember real is being recreated in reel and it needs to be as good as the real thing or at least close enough. Be it Kapil holding the World Cup or playing his Natarajan shot during that epic 175 or even certain moments in games like a batter being hit by a bouncer or a dismissal - all these were shown in the correct style. In fact, to add authenticity, when the replays are shown on TV, one sees the actual highlights of the game being referred to or a photo still from a newspaper or ground camera to show the original shot as if to show how close the reel shot is to the real one.

To add more authenticity, the matches were shot at the actual grounds were the original games took place. The shooting occurred while the 2019 World Cup was going on and so shoots were scheduled in a way not to hamper the tournament. That added another real factor in the reel. Even Ranveer Singh recreated Kapil's famous catch in the final to dismiss Viv Richards to perfection.

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Not only the Indian players, but the West Indians have also been amply represented. Genetics played a role here as well. Mohinder Amarnath's father's role was played by Amarnath himself as the great Lala Amarnath. But it does not end there. Sandeep Patil's role is played by Chirag Patil, his son. Others also fit perfectly well into their characters. Sides like Australia, England and Zimbabwe have been well shown with their players looking just like they did back in the day. Bob Willis' hairstyle was pulled off well. In a small cameo, a cricketer portraying Imran Khan is shown speaking to Kapil after the team photo session and it almost looked like Imran in the 1980s. Even Deepika Padukone pulls off the look of Kapil's wife Romi with the hair. The actors portraying the West Indies team would have made their 1983 side proud with such accurate depictions. Gordon Greenidge's role was played by his son Carl and Malcolm Marshall's son Mali took up the role of his dad. Clive Lloyd's son Jason acted as Joel Garner while Larry Gomes was played by Shivnarine Chanderpaul¡¯s son. Also, Pankaj Tripathi, playing team manager PR Man Singh, did justice to the role.

Not just from the players' point of view. The matches have also captured the emotions of the fans pretty well. Things the audience can relate to, the unity that cricket brings people together.

Where 83 outranks other Indian sports films, especially those based on actual events is that it has depicted events in their original form. By bringing real to reel with accuracy, it has proven to be a perfect canvas to depict India's best moment in cricket.

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For those of us who were not on this planet when India won the World Cup in 1983. this movie was the closest we got to experience the real thing. Yes, we have seen the highlights, but the dramatisation of the events added that much-needed sense of seeing it as it happened. We were living through history and saw it unfold in front of us. For those who saw India lift the World Cup, be it at the ground or on TV, it turned back the clock by over 38 years.

All in all, it is the perfect cinematic experience. A sports movie made the way it should be - factual and accurate as possible with good recreation that does justice to the original event. The players who were part of the moment relived what happened and were impressed by their versions on the screen who also did justice to the roles.

If you have watched the movie, good on you. If you have not, then do so as soon as possible. From the cricketing angle, this film has done justice to the game, the tournament, the historic moment, the players and has brought out the best of India on the field on the big screen.