1983

An elegantly made charming film with abundant humor and sensible emotions. With perfect casting and sound visuals to enhance its quality, this movie from debutante director Abrid Shine is a pleasure ride. Comparing it with Lagaan is total rubbish; all I could sense was a distant similarity with Nagesh Kukunoor’s Iqbal. But by reinventing that basic thought the writers of the movie has made it more entertaining.

Film is actually the journey of Rameshan. From the young age, cricket is something he is passionate about. He has spoiled his education because of his love for it, he was scolded for that love and he even lost his “love” because of this particular passion. The film basically narrates these events and also how Rameshan manages to continue that passion even after so many obstacles on his way ahead.

Personally I found Rameshan and his friends circle very real, mostly because of childhood memories where I have seen such friendships. Abrid Shine has managed to capture those lighthearted deep rooted friendships very smartly and that really sets the things in motion for the Tendulkar tribute. There is no real sad slot in the film. Even the slightly cheesy love failure is given a humor cover by introducing a traditional marriage. Such kind of twists in the plot increases the humor and at the same time keeps the movie in a much real terrain. The gradual make over of each character ( almost 25 years) was shown quite brilliantly.From the goofy wife to the profession of the Rameshan’s father, the screenplay skillfully stitches every element it created in the story . The chemistry between the friends were absolutely delightful and in the second half also we can see the same character with required maturity. The tempo of the second half is rightly slow but still there was enough to enlighten and entertain.

Before I appreciate the actors a special round of applauds for the casting team who just picked the best possible actors for the roles. Nivin Pauly starts of Rameshan at 15 and the movie ends where he is 40 and you will never feel that the make up did it ( Gods gift – Something Dhanush did in Ranjhanaa).  Acting part was also really good from him. Nikki Galrani’s dubbing was slightly disturbing. The best example of perfect casting in my view was Anoop Menon’s character. The actor cannot be called as a versatile performer but his natural style was really apt for the character of Vijay Menon. Joy Mathew did well as the orthodox father. Srinda Ashab deserves a pat on the back for her acting. The friends played by Saiju Kurup, Sanjay Shivram, Dinesh, Neeraj, Nandan and a few more were spot on. The kid was also superb. Jacob Gregory delivered yet another memorable performance as Sachin from Mumbai.

In the making, Abrid Shine has handled the movie superbly. He has tried to keep things visually real. The conversations and the way some characters express themselves is written beautifully and they were captured without loosing the life in it. Screenplay moves without any annoying stoppages which happens in films that are spread over a big span of time. Every grey shade in the movie is given conclusion which is hilarious. The dialogues were witty and catchy. The cinematography was really superb and you will get to see some real cricketing action on celluloid. Nice edits and fitting background score. The music was also good from Gopi Sundar. The art section lacks perfection.

So to sum up, I had a wonderful time watching this film that focuses on one particular individuals efforts to live for his passion. With a lot of  real characters speaking sensibly and humorously, its hard to focus on the small mistakes in this craft. The rating is 4/5 for this movie that has a lot of Sachin Tendulkar reference. 1983 is highly recommended. Helmets off.