India proved yet again that they know how to celebrate their heroes and their heroics as they come up with a movie to cherish the World Cup victory of 1983. The movie named ’83’ features the story of India’s historic World Cup campaign under the leadership of Kapil Dev.
The sports drama recalls how Dev led India, who themselves did not believe in their chances to make a mark in England, lifted the World Cup at Lords. A team that was not even likely to reach the semi-finals defeated the two-time world champions, West Indies, in the finals to claim their first World Cup victory.
Being India’s first title that too after a fair share of thrill, the triumph enthused passion in the next generation for cricket. In simple words, victory of 1983 was the rebirth of cricket in India.
Re-creating the momentous tournament, famous Indian actor Ranveer Singh starred in the movie as Indian captain, Kapil Dev, while Deepika Padukone played the part of his wife, Romi Dev. The movie is a testimonial to the exceptional leadership role played by Kapil Dev in 1983.
This is not the first time that Indian cinema has retold the story of their cricketing legends through the silver screen, however, Pakistan is yet to do something similar. Pakistan film and drama industry has neither shown interest in filming the biopics of the cricketers from the past nor have they depicted any memorable journey of Pakistan cricket on screen. Earlier, a movie on former Indian captain, MS Dhoni, also became a huge hit in India and worldwide.
Despite being the biggest moment in the history of Pakistan cricket, no story has been written for 1992 World Cup. Similarly, the lives of cricketing greats like Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi have never been filmed.
This negligence might not seem serious, but communicating our stories through media can serve a great deal in bringing the fans closer to Pakistan cricket.
What viewers see on the field does not explain the entirety of any scenario and the backstory of our heroes needs to be told. Moreover, young fans who did not get to witness the magic of glorious moments from past deserve a chance to feel the thrill through storytelling. Hence, India has set an example by portraying their side of the story and now Pakistan should take their cameras too.
