83 is based on the career and winning moments of Kapil Dev (Ranveer Singh) this film is about the ever-so-known historic feat of India’s first World Cup win that happened back in 1983. We see a team of underdogs in the Indian Cricket Team leaving for yet another world cup which most know is just a formality to continue the tradition of the English sport. The sentiment of ‘they’re not going to win’ is so strong that they have a return ticket booked beforehand of a date occurring even before the semi-finals. The rest of the film is about India’s roaring journey to the historic moment of Kapil Dev lifting the world cup.
The story many know but it’s 83’s execution that shines to match the monumental emotions we as a country hold for the game. Kabir Khan along with Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, Vasan Bala pens a story that milks every possible emotion. Khan ropes in his trusted cinematographer Aseem Mishra but this one is especially tough for him. It’s not at all easy to capture the pace of a 50-over game’s thrill in just a handful of minutes as that’s how long a match sequence would last. West Indies’ aggressive bowling is showcased brilliantly using some very neat slo-mo camera shots.
Kapil Dev is not at all an easy character to get into the skin of given his extremely restricted personality and is the polar opposite to the virtues Ranveer Singh stands for. But, this makes clear one more thing, whatever Ranveer is off-screen, he could be anything on-screen. This only adds to the list of characters Ranveer Singh has nailed.The entire Deepika Padukone as Kapil’s wife angle is noticeably for the fandom of both stars and it doesn’t serve any special purpose. Pankaj Tripathi continues the thing he does with every project he related to: make it better. The quirks given to PR Man Singh sits extremely well with Pankaj as he makes another addition to the list of mastered accents.
Kabir Khan takes a more predictable, conventional route in “what to show apart from what’s already known.” Another smart thing he brings in is the way he chooses to mash up the real footage with the reel. Pritam’s background score adds the required oomph to the already high-on-adrenaline visuals. Lehra Do & Jeetega Bhai Jeetega aptly do their job of boosting the drama of the team’s unpredictable journey. But none of the songs would be remembered as standalone songs as they’re designed to be extremely situational.
All said and done, Ranveer Singh & Kabir Khan have done it with the most amazing supporting cast of Ammy Virk, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiiva, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna, Chirag Patil, Dinker Sharma, Nishant Dahiya, singer Harrdy Sandhu, Sahil Khattar, Boman Irani, Adinath Kothare, Dhairya Karwa & Neena Gupta
One of 2021’s best!