Sachin - A Billion Dreams Movie Review : This one is as perfect as his straight drive!
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| Image : Poster of Sachin - A Billion Dreams. |
DIRECTOR - James Erskine
DURATION - 2hrs 19mins
GENRE - Sports Biopic
RATING - 4/5
PLOT - Sachin Tendulkar plays himself in this sports drama film, that traces the life of one of the biggest cricket phenomenas.
REVIEW : When the protagonist has been the collective voice and conscience of the Indian cricketing history, then he’s a tough subject to make a film on. Naturally, director James Erskine puts Sachin Tendulkar on a pedestal and tells the story with an unnatural amount of reverence.
The film gives a sneak peek into Sachin’s childhood. There's a fan-shriek moment to see footage of him in his personal space, looped to Dire Straits and Bappi Lahiri with his wife Anjali, his children, Arjun and Sara, his family and friends. Sachin is the narrator of this film, the one who walks the viewers through his victories and injuries.
Fans of Sachin Tendulkar can feel the adrenaline rush because the film revisits his introduction to the world. The time when he hit Pakistan’s Abdul Qadir for four sixes in an over at the 1989 Exhibition Match. And yet another indelible memory is revisited here, the one in which he reduced Australia’s Shane Warne into a punching bag in the 1998 Chennai test against the Aussies. His achievements are far too many to be accommodated in one film! Yes, YouTube has it all, but for die hard fans, whom Sachin is an emotion, watching this footage on the big screen, the experience is priceless.
But, wait there’s a another side of the coin too. Most controversies around the God of Cricket are glossed over. Many of us are ready to face the fact that our icon may have displayed feet of clay on occasion. However, the biopic doesn’t take chances. Sachin’s poor performances in some key matches and his reluctance to comment on some of his boorish seniors are just touched on fleetingly.
The hagiographic narrative continues with commentators, critics and colleagues - M.S. Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh are only eulogizing the Little Master.
Academically this film is an important one because for a nation like India, that revers cricket, it serves as a reminder that prodigies may be born, but they become Sachin Tendulkar only through perseverance, patience and preparation.
IN DEPTH RATINGS -
DIRECTION - 4/5
STORY - 4/5
DIALOGUES - 4/5
MUSIC - 3/5
VISUAL APPEAL - 4/5
