'83' movie review: Ranveer Singh and team deliver a power-packed performance in this engaging film

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi, Jatin Sarna, Saqib Saleem, Hardy Sandhu, Amy Virk, Sahil Khattar, Tahir Bhasin, and others

Director: Kabir Khan

Music: Pritam

Where to watch: In cinemas 

Rating: 4 1/2 stars 

Synopsis: A dejected Indian cricket team led by an encouraging captain Kapil Dev enters into the 3rd World Cup of 1983 to everyone's disappointment. The team goes through a journey of ups and downs, and with their hard work, they create history. 

'83' movie review

Cricket and Bollywood is a terrific combo ('Lagaan,' 'Iqbal,' 'M.S Dhoni: The Untold Story') and when you have an iconic event like the 1983 World Cup, either you can go sky-high or crash badly. However, '83' successfully takes you on an epic journey, and we get to re-live the moment where the fate of the Indian cricket team changed, forever. Ranveer Singh and team '83' will be a feast for every Indian, and you'll feel proud about the fact that Kapil Dev and his team did the unbelievable. Before going to the movie, you can don India's jersey, or carry the hooters with you, as you will get a stadium-like experience. 

Right from the word 'go', the film makes you feel like a spectator, sitting in a stadium, and witnessing the iconic final match of 1983 between India VS West Indies at Lord's stadium, England. The right-arm bowler Madan Lal (Hardy Sandhu) bowls a delivery to legendary Viv Richards with full force. Viv strikes it high, but Kapil Dev (Ranveer) and Yashpal Sharma (Jatin Sarna) are about to catch the ball, and... we are taken to the beginning of the journey. 

The movie is set between March - June 1983 and it takes us on a next-to-impossible journey. The film dramatises the world cup matches of Group B (India, West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Australia). In the movie, the team India gets tagged as a hopeless squad. Even the cricket board shows no hype when India gets selected for the world cup. Nonetheless, administrator PR Man Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) arranges the kits of his squad and leaves for the team who are busy practising for the World Cup at the international ground. 

'83' takes us back in time and makes us realise that cricket wasn't a religion before the '80s. It was the dedication of Kapil and his team that changed the sport's perception and made the country proud. One of the best factors of the film is that we know the event, we know that in the end, we will be the champions. But we didn't know the journey of these 11 players. Every millennial out there knows that India has won the World Cup of 1983 under Kapil Dev's captaincy, but do you know other players of the team? The members, who put faith in Kapil's dream, and fought for it with blood-and-sweat? That's where '83' shines with glory. 

Apart from Kapil, we get to know Yashpal Sharma, a right-handed batsman who scores a glorious 89 against West Indies in the first match of the tournament, and gives a fitting reply to the pessimist spectators. We are introduced to Balwinder Singh Sandhu (Amy Virk), a player who takes the crucial wicket of  Indies' Gordon Greenidge with his cryptic inswinger and scores a life-saving 22 runs with Syed Kirmani (Sahil Khattar). The film highlights Madan Lal (Hardy Sandhu), a bowler who takes the critical wicket of the great Viv Richards and acts to be a valuable addition to the team. The film emphasises Sunil Gavaskar (Tahir Bhasin), a player considers to be a nightmare for the West Indies. '83' stays true to the event, and avoid going haywire with unwanted subplots or exorbitant backstories of the players. 

Before talking about performances, let's take a moment to appreciate director Kabir Khan. The director who's known for his action-dramas 'New York,' 'Ek Tha Tiger,' 'Phantom,' and dramedy 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' has hit a milestone by directing this sports drama. Kabir has made sure that every member of Team XI gets an opportunity to shine. He highlighted the major contributions of every player. If we hoot for Kapil, we get astounded by Viv Richards' batting and Micheal Holdings' furious bowling deliveries. Kabir understood the sentiments of the sport well and depicted them on the screen with utmost honesty. Khan proved why Cricket is more than sports, and how it can help to bring people together. 

Image source: Reliance Entertainment Twitter

Now let's talk about performances. Ranveer has taken his career to new heights by playing Kapil Dev to perfection. He manages to become symmetrical to 'Haryana Hurricane,' and he adapts the physicality of Dev as easy as a chameleon. His accent, his body language, the wide smile, his speech pauses, and the 'Natraj' shot, are close to perfect. Apart from Singh, Jatin Sarna ('Sacred Games') puts up a great show, Jiiva as Kris Srikkanth gives us enough laughing moments, Adinath Kothare also enacts Dilip Vengasarkar to the exemplar and his injury moment in the film will strike you hard. Saqib Saleem also shines as Mohinder Amarnath. Special mention to Pankaj Tripathi, who made us laugh and emotional with his excellent portrayal of PR Man Singh. Even Boman Irani leaves a mark as commentator Farokh Engineer. Deepika Padukone plays the role of Dev's wife, Romi Bhalla, and she acts as an anchor to Dev. The couple embodied their natural chemistry on screen, and that's what made them amazing. Wamiqa Gabbi plays Madan Lal's wife, and sadly there is not much to her character other than 2-3 lines, and a breakdown scene. Neena Gupta looks delightful as Kapil Dev's mother.  

Pritam's music and Julias Packiam's background score sync well with the theme, and the song 'Lehra Do,' is the soul of the film. You might vacate the cinemas running with happiness, as the song echoes during film's final moment. 

The film starts on a nail-biting note, but after the first two victories, the phase, the results of the other two matches, and the whole drama seemed a little predictable. Though the film picks up in the second half, there are plenty of iconic moments, and by the end of the film, you'll be cheering as a proud Indian. Sachin Tendulkar fans will also get a pleasnt suprise in the film. The transition of the real-to-reel moments and the end credits are clap-worthy.

Final Verdict: Be a part of an iconic event, where cinemas will turn into stadiums, and you'll relive an iconic chapter of Indian cricket with a sense of pride and happiness. Go with your family, as the elders will get nostalgic by witnessing the history again.