Slow pitch

Theres something about sports thats played and life thats lived that is instantly compelling. The combination of straining sinews,sharpened nerves,razor-sharp readiness,and,yes,the primal urge to win,has generated brilliant works of art over centuries. But whenever Im asked about great sports films from Bollywood,Im at a loss. There are only a handful of movies that would count as sports-focussed in any meaningful manner; the rest use it as a backdrop,merely.

Lets take films on cricket (all other sport(s) in India is played as an afterthought,alas). For a cricket-mad nation,where the humble gully crickets claim to back lanes is inviolate,where are the great cricket films? The most recent cricket piggyback was Patiala House,which tried to halt Akshay Kumars slide by morphing him into a hero who does something other than breathe,seemingly the only qualificatory condition for most of our leading men. He plays a British Asian whose burning desire to play for the home team is quenched by his stick-in-the-desi-mud bauji. Ultimately,of course,he does. And we get to see a hero in sporting action for at least some part of the film.

Patiala House had the potential to become a film that said something more,but it got drowned in silliness and treacle,the deadly duo that inflicts most of our movies.

One of the nicest films which foregrounds cricket and a likeable,credible central character is Nagesh Kukunoors Iqbal. It helped that it was Shreyas Talpades first film: a new face is more likely to be accepted in a role that requires slaving day and night. Akshays (and Aamirs,for that matter) audience would only like to see him hit fliers,not to be seen burdened by the sheer,never-ending slog that goes into the making of an enduring sporting legend. So Talpade could be speech-and-hearing challenged,belonging-to-a-minority,desperately poor loser to begin with,and turn into a winner later. Clap,clap.

Nothing but inanity has been served up in such films as Hattrick,Stumped,Meerabai Not Out (the last tried to coast on Mandira Bedis conquest of countless male hearts in her long stint as a real-life commentator,except there were not enough noodle straps in the film). Not to be outdone,Yashraj Films hit upon the brilliant idea of decking out Rani Mukerji in a mooch-and-pagdi,and fighting her way into a team. Dil Bole Hadippa took kir-kit silliness to a never-before scaled height,and still remains the movie to beat on that score.

It made me nostalgic for one of the most real sporting stories to come out of Hindi cinema,Prakash Jhas Hip Hip Hurray,about an enthusiastic sports teacher and a bunch of rowdy boys-turned-match winners. Also for Chak De!India,which gave us,apart from young women who actually looked like they could wield sticks,and thwack a hockey ball about,a classic sporting character: the charismatic coach. Shah Rukh Khan gets into Kabir Khans skin,moving past his personal demons,inspiring a rag-tag team to become world beaters. Chak De also has a lovely anti-cricket dialogue,which raised the maximum laughs. Which proved it all over again: its cricket which is the biggest unifier,whether it is the movies,or nationalistic fervour.

In the mid-80s,a superb TV series called Bodyline gave us characters who played cricket. It had heart,and heartache,and a soul-satisfying story. While we celebrate the sweet World Cup victory,and get set for the next long haul of the IPL,which combines glamour and cricket and money in a manner Bollywood loves,we are still waiting for the sporting film that will make an Indian anthem: isnt it time we had our own Chariots of Fire?

shubhra.guptaexpressindia.com