Kaun Pravin Tambe (spoiler free) movie review

 

Ok Hindi film Industry…I ll give credit where its due. You actually made an awesome movie this year.

 

 

 

KAUN PRAVIN TAMBE

DIRECTOR – JAYPRAD DESAI (THIS DUDE NEEDS TO START TEACHING CLASSES TO OTHER HINDI MOVIE DIRECTORS ON HOW TO SHOOT SPORTS MOVIES)

CAST- SHREYAS TALPADE, ASHISH VIDYARTHI, ARIF ZAKARIA AND OTHERS

While we have all been busy celebrating the massive and deserved success of South Indian sweep shots like RRR and KGF, this little leg glance of a movie got overshadowed by it. (No, the cricketing metaphors are not gonna stop in this review).  We all collectively agree that mainstream Hindi film makers more often than not SUCK at making biopics, particularly sports biopics. With the exception of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and maybe Mary Kom to some extent, most of them either exaggerate too much or…they just exaggerate too much. That’s it. They put masala where its not needed.

I am tempted here to make this entire review about hating that absolute gutter trash of a film 83..a movie about India’s greatest cricketing moment...which it somehow managed to ruin. However, I will fight the good fight and praise this one. Kaun Pravin Tambe is the biopic of cricketer Pravin Tambe.  We have all heard that adage ‘Age is just a number’. Tambe lived and proved it when he entered mainstream cricket at age 41 defying his lower middle-class background.

However, its not just the typical rags to riches struggle. It is in the balanced manner which it is portrayed on-screen that makes a difference. The moments of emotion are undercut with levity, there are one or two bouncers here and there that threaten to derail the script, however it hits the pitch back again. The movie does have its fair share of stock sports movie moments like the stern but wise coach, family struggles and an unnecessarily hateful sports critic. But even these characters have a lot of nuances and you are actually given a reason as to why the sports critic is the way he is. The screenplay is perfectly paced – it isn’t too dramatic for it to feel ridiculous neither is it too realistic for it to feel like it’s dragging on.

Like it or not, but Shreyas Talpade is presently Marathi industry’s biggest export to Hindi film industry…and he knocks it out of the park here. Comparisons maybe made to Iqbal – another cricketing movie where he played a bowler- but I honestly feel this is much more balanced performance. At every given point of time, even though you are completely aware that the real Pravin Tambe is obviously not like this, yet it still works. His passion for cricket shines through in every frame without overpowering the scene. Also, the supporting cast works really well- especially Anjali Patil as his wife and seasoned actor Ashish Vidyarthi as the coach who sees in Tambe what Tambe himself hasn’t seen yet. Also, one must appreciate the casting director who cast the absolute perfect actor for Rahul Dravid’s role. The dude looks, acts and speaks exactly like Dravid.

 What movies like 83 and ANY future Indian sports movie needs to learn from this one is that you absolutely do not need to put everything in slow motion. This movie has some of the best and cleanest sports action without any jump cuts or speed ramping. It all feels natural, like you were actually watching them play shots. Seriously, this movie makes 83 look like a fucking joke. It was probably made at half the budget but delivers 200 times the cricketing action in a much better way. The scene towards the end where they merge real IPL footage with Shreyas Talpade in it is seamless.

 Director Jayprad Desai has apparently made documentaries and a web series on Zee 5 (it’s called Hutatma and its about the struggle for the creation of Maharashtra and I am about to watch it now). The whole feel of Kaun Hai Pravin Tambe is well..anti-Bollywood-ish. Almost feels like a Marathi movie or a regional movie where they know how to spend money and screen time wisely. (Maybe coz the director and the screen writers are Marathi). Very subtle aspects like the art direction- Tambe’s chawl home – things kept in the background tell their own story…the subtle dialogue with the exact amount of drama necessary has very..un-Bollywood like sensibilities to it. Let’s hope we get to see such intelligent and shrewd directors in the Hindi film industry more. To call this a typical mainstream Hindi movie feels a bit weird. (even though its produced by Disney).

 Kaun Pravin Tambe is like a beautifully bowled leg spinner- with the exact amount of flight and twists necessary to have you stumped. (Yes, why would you think I wouldn’t end this with a cricketing metaphor).

 

STOP WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING TODAY AND WATCH THIS MOVIE ON DISNEY HOTSTAR RIGHT NOW.

 

PS - Only negative I can think about the movie is why I didn’t I watch this before. It apparently came out in April. They should've marketed this better.