Cricket is not just a sport, it’s an emotion! There’s no denying the fact that cricket has significantly contributed to strengthening the unity of people across the country, from up North to down South. Over the years, cricket, as well as the lives of cricketing personalities, has piqued the interest of several Indian filmmakers, who have helmed some critically acclaimed and commercially successful movies and shows about the same and brought the magic alive on the screens, from the likes of ‘Lagaan’, ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’, ‘Sachin – A Billion Dreams’, ‘Inside Edge’, ‘Selection Day’ and ‘83’, to name a few. As we take you down the memory lane, here’s a list of the five best Indian movies and shows about cricket that will surely awaken the cricket aficionado within you:
M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story
Starring the late Sushant Singh Rajput in the titular role, ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’ is a biographical sports drama film that chronicles the personal, as well as professional, life journey of the former captain of the Indian national cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Both directed and written by prolific filmmaker Neeraj Pandey, the superhit 2016 film boasts of Disha Patani, Kiara Advani and Anupam Kher in key roles. Owing to the massive fandom of the Indian cricketer, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story went on to become the fifth highest-grossing film of 2016.
Bandon Mein Tha Dum
Yet another Neeraj Pandey directorial, ‘Bandon Mein Tha Dum’ is an upcoming sports web series that is slated to premiere exclusively on Voot Select on 16th June 2022! The highly anticipated four-part series follows the Indian national cricket team’s peaks and troughs on their uncertainty-rife journey during the historic 2020/21 India tour of Australia, seen through the lens of Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammed Siraj, Hanuma Vihari and Washington Sundar. Bandon Mein Tha Dum pays a tribute to the true spirit of a young Indian team that defeated the world’s No.1 Test side on its home soil to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in one of India’s most iconic Test victories ever!
Sachin: A Billion Dreams
Shot simultaneously in English, Hindi and Marathi, ‘Sachin – A Billion Dreams’ is a sports documentary film that was released back in 2017. Helmed by renowned British filmmaker James Erskine, the movie captures the unparalleled career of the cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar in detail and delves deeper into the few aspects of his life that remained unknown to even his die-hard fans! The critically lauded documentary film is based on two main plots – The first focuses on Sachin Tendulkar's childhood and the early years of his cricketing career. The second sheds light on his journey to becoming the 'God of Cricket' till his first World Cup triumph.
Selection Day
Produced by Anil Kapoor and Anand Tucker, ‘Selection Day’ is a fictional sports drama web series, the first part of which premiered on Netflix in December 2018, followed by its second part in April 2019. The twelve-episodic series is based on the Booker Prize awardee Aravind Adiga's eponymous novel, which had hit the stands in 2016. Starring Mohammad Samad, Yash Dholye, Mahesh Manjrekar, Ratna Pathak Shah, Karanvir Malhotra, Shiv Panditt and Rajesh Tailang, among many others, in prominent roles, Selection Day revolves around the lives of Radha and Manjunath, two brothers who are brought up by their cricket-obsessed father in order to move to Mumbai and get selected for domestic cricket leagues.
83
Written and directed by Kabir Khan, ‘83’ is a biographical sports drama film that hit the theatres in December last year, i.e., 2021. Featuring an ensemble cast including Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Jiiva, Pankaj Tripathi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Saqib Saleem, Harrdy Sandhu, Ammy Virk and Adinath Kothare, to name a few, the movie details the Indian cricket team’s memorable journey to a historic victory in the 1983 World Cup. 83 is now available to stream on Netflix as well as Disney+Hotstar.
Time to bask in the cricket fever and add these movies and shows to your watchlist now!
