Review: Kaun Pravin Tambe? is a lovely little cricketing movie about a very persistent man

Shreyas Talpade in 'Kaun Pravin Tambe?' (Screen grab)

What do you call a man who did everything all his life just to be able to play cricket? You call him Pravin. Pravin Tambe. A cricketer so crazy, you’ll just shake your head at him when you watch the story of his life playing on Disney+Hotstar.

Sports underdog movies follow a formula: hero/heroes from the wrong side of the tracks who find a coach who believes in them and despite all odds (no sponsors, no uniforms, no professional shoes, no right food, no support from families and more) the team pulls through in the last minute with improvised uniforms and win by sheer talent.

But what do you do about a man who did not give up his dream of playing in Ranji matches? Pravin Tambe began dreaming of playing professional cricket at 12. As he grew up, everyone thought that he would forget about cricket, but he didn’t. His persistence would pay in little drips and drops, and he worked at jobs that let him play cricket, but the grand success that he wanted - his name in the selection list - kept eluding him. At first he was not noticed, and when was noticed by selectors, there were always detractors who commented on his age, his credentials… But he soldiered on, determined to see his name move from Ranji ‘probables’ to the ‘selected’ list.

It’s a super biography dramatised for this cricket mad nation. But as they say, tests matches are tiresome (and only loved by the ones who care for the game), but millions and millions are crazy about the fast paced T20 games, the one -day matches that guarantee quick, enthralling cricket…

Shreyas Talpade does the pain of loss, the despondent, the sad sack, the victim of destiny act rather well. He’s a good guy, but somehow success seems to elude him. It takes Ashish Vidyarthi’s Coach Parab to show him that his real talent lies in his wrist. Pravin doesn’t like it, and he fights it. He’s been a medium pacer all his life, and he’s taken wickets. Why then does he not get selected? How does he overcome these and many odds…

Thankfully he has parents who understand his madness. I especially loved his mom: Chhaya Kadam is an excellent actor, and she is such a natural mother to Pravin who cannot think beyond cricket. His father - played by Arun Nalawade - is wonderful and indulgent about his son’s cricket madness. The scene where father and son eat mangoes and the mother taunts Pravin to get a job is wonderful. They live in a chawl, with neighbours yelling their disapproval when little Pravin plays catch with a tennis ball by throwing it at the wall. Pravin’s wife doesn’t understand cricket, and it’s sweet when things are going smoothly, but when she has to look after the home as well as the kids, you do understand why she gets irritated with Pravin’s mad love for cricket. Anjali Patil is very good as his wife.

I found myself losing patience with the story at many points. The songs that show him struggle don’t help. We got the point that Pravin Tambe was cricket-mad and did all kinds of jobs in order to keep his dream of playing in the Mumbai Ranji team alive. How long do we keep seeing him try and fail?

The parallel story about a sports journalist who is annoyed by Tambe’s persistence and labels his ability to take wickets as ‘fluke’ and writes him off as a ‘gully cricket’ guy who is gimmicky is a very good cinematic rivalry. Many a career have been made or ruined by words. Parambrata Chatterjee plays the journalist who doesn’t understand why everyone finds Pravin Tambe talented. Like the British Journalist who promised that he’d eat his words if India won the world cup, this journalist too has bet to do something similar. Coach has bet on Pravin Tambe’s talent…

I genuinely liked the film, but boy, did it go on and on and on! But watching the never ending struggle does pay off in the end when Rahul Dravid makes a call… Salaams, Pravin Tambe!