Growing up in India during the 90’s and late 2000’s, it is almost impossible not to know Sachin Tendulkar. People place their priority even before the sport itself, for that was the magnitude of his craze, we all know that at one point or other we have cheered, cried and clapped for this magnificent cricketer. 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams'- the film is what we know of the man, what we have seen of this man, adding some exclusive footage of the cricketer himself, and an amplification of his autobiography hand crafted by himself.
Before stepping into cinemas, it’s advisable to remove of the traditional movie going experience and step into the shoes as a Cricket fan, specifically a SACHIN FAN! The story of the man from his early cricketing days to the peak of career and his retirement sums up the movie in a nutshell. The movie itself like his retirement speech where he thanked every single person in life responsible for his growth, in return all the personalities he mentioned in his thanks note have come out talking about their presence and Sachin’s story in various stages of his cricketing and personal journey.
The film starts off with the chant "Sachin, Sachin" on a high bass level, the very sound that echoed across stadiums and Television boxes for more than a decade. As a child Sachin used to be very naughty, we have read it in his autobiographical book, here is a live demo of what the man was up to, his antics with his friends, his early childhood on how he stepped into cricket, family and all has been covered aesthetically. Each frame the movie takes time to sink in the situation, give the viewers a grasp of what was running into the Little Master’s mind, the first time he grabs a bat, the first time he walks into an International arena, the world cup and all important moments, James the director does a beautiful job of sinking into emotions.
Let’s agree, it’s not the typical sport movie, and never to compare it with Dhoni: The untold story at all. This is more like a narration from the master blaster, his perspective of how his complete innings in cricketing life. The film shows us what we are already aware, Match fixing, his marriage and family, focuses a lot on his tough times during injuries as in the book too, team’s morale and definitely a lot on the fans expressions. Coming from a middle class family, his journey to simplicity has been amazing, why and how has been the focus. He gives ample attention to his wife Anjali, who co-narrates most of the segments with Sachin.
A lot of cricketers chip in, a short note on their experiences; Indian cricketers, International stars – Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Nasser Hussain, ViV Richards and Wasim Akram talk during the various series they have been a part of. The movie itself is like his autobiography being read out aloud with visuals of what we have seen and some exclusive footage of the cricketer’s personal life, dressing room peeks and of course the stadium’s emotion coming into life. Apart from Sachin’s early life being captured with actors to show his childhood, the rest are all real life snippets, so it’s almost like watching Nat-geo on big screen.
There is nothing to comment, review or chatter if this could have been better or not, the movie gets into the thick of the sentiments and dwells on it. Rahman’s music silently echoes in the BGM as Sachin goes on narrating his journey, Hind meri Jaan is brilliant and touching.
Verdict:The phrase comes to life "If Cricket is Religion, Sachin is God". 'Sachin' is a true ode to the cricketer’s hard work and commitment. Thank you for entertaining us SACHIN.
