Sachin: A Billion Dreams Movie Review

Note: This isn’t exactly a review of the film, but a tribute of sorts to arguably the greatest cricketer of all time. ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams’ isn’t a feature film, but a docu-drama highlighting the ups and downs of a man who we have grown up to love, respect and adore.

There’s not much left to be said about Sachin Tendulkar, perhaps our country’s greatest cricket ever. We all know his story, his struggles and his achievements by heart now. We have been enthralled by him and we have been entertained by him for close to 3 decades now. He’s the single greatest source of hope and pride for our young nation, and the mood of an entire nation depended on how he wielded his wooden bat in the cricket field.

But, inspite of the familiarity of his story, we still don’t know the real man. He’s been notorious for shying away from showing his emotions. We don’t know his personal stand on a lot of issues which cropped up throughout his playing career. We don’t know how he reacted to the many controversies which erupted during his tenure in the Indian cricket team. The movie Sachin: A Billion Dreams aims to give us a glimpse into his personal life and into his mind.

Sachin: A Billion Dreams is without a doubt the biggest docudrama which has been made and released on such a large scale in India. And let’s just say that it deserves to be seen by every Indian who grew up during the 90s and 2000s after the Indian economy was liberated. His story mirrors the story of the resurgent country. The rise from a middle class background to becoming the most accomplished batsman in history was no mean feat. And this docudrama takes us through all those moments.

It is an emotional roller coaster ride from the moment we are introduced to a young Sachin (the actor playing the young master blaster looks like his clone). The moment he first picks up a Kashmiri bat, the moment he meets his coach Ramakant Achrekar are all cleverly brought alive. Him being selected as the youngest cricketer, his struggles against pace bowlers, the tour of Pakistan are all included. We see his side of the story. The desert storm in Sharjah, the 1996 world cup fiasco, the match fixing controversy are not at all glossed upon. We get a real insight into how Sachin dealt with it all.

We get to see his painful struggle of losing his father during the 1999 world cup and then returning to England soon after to score a century. How did he manage to still keep a level head even after being the most pressured man in world cricket? We know now. Being removed as a captain not just once but twice adversely affected his mettle but he battled it and came back stronger.

We also get a look at his family life. His relationship with his wife Anjali, who left medical practice to look after the family is an admirable one. His relationship with his two children is also idealistic. The way his brother and parents egged him on to play the game he loved playing is brought to the forefront here.

The director realised the material he had on his hands and used all of his resources to make a faithful and sincere ode to the man many of us belonging to different religions know as God of cricket. He didn’t overlook the controversies and the hard times. This is the tone a docudrama should ideally have. Taking us through the highs and lows of this genuine superstar who never let his fame damage his humility and sincerity.

Sachin: A Billion Dreams will remind us of the reason we fell in love with the man. It will also remind us why so many lost their interest in the game after he retired  There was no one like him before, and there’s not going to be anyone after him either. (We don’t switch-off the television after a batsman gets out anymore, do we?) Sachin: A Billion Dreams will take us on a journey of a man from Mumbai but it will also take us on a journey of India – a rooted, humble story of tremendous success. It will inspire everyone to scream out “Sachin, Sachin” once again.

No Rating. Go watch it.

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41 Comments

  • A 10cr opening sure for Sachin a billion dreams .
    I know this type of opening is good for a documented film but I m a little disappointed.
    Our country people are stupid.
    They can spend 1500 cr to know why kattapa killed bahubali but no one is talking about Sachins movie which is not fictional but based on a real inspiring story. I m not saying bad for bahubali it is magnum opus .
    But when I feel that bahubali collected 125 cr on day 1 and Sachin may struggle for a 10 cr opening . This makes me disapointed . I m a true sachin fan and i watched first show of his movie. But people are not doing do . This movie also deserves 100cr plus opening.

  • Pirates & Sachin getting Excellent response from audience…..

    Pirates Of The Caribbean ( except Pirates of the Caribbean 1)

    Critics – Mixed / Negative reviews

    Audience – Positive/Highly Positive response

    Pirates Daaa…….

  • You can watch him all the day while he is batting..his straight drive and cover drive delight to watch..i never feel i am his fan..but when he retire from international cricket and got out at wankhede in his last test..at that time the tear automatically came from my eyes..at that time i realize he is nothing but a emotion for most of the Indians..

  • He is the legend of cricket he is born in Maharashtra ( Mumbai ) . He ruled in heart of every Indian . Stadium par aawaz gunjti hai Sachin Sachin us se pata lagta hain his popularity . Hashmi did Azhar , Sushant did Dhoni but Sachin is legend nobody can copy of him .

  • ” so many lost their interest in the game after he retired ”

    Same thing here now in Sri lanka
    he = KUMAR SANGAKKARA

  • “We don’t switch-off the television after a batsman gets out anymore, do we? ”

    Says it all, he is an emotion, I many times cried in my childhood when sachin got out at 98 or 99, Meaning of Cricket was Sachin for Me
    Truly a LEGEND, He is not just the most loved cricketer he is the most loved Indian too..
    My Exams r going on still going for this movie tonight..
    SACHIN ?????

  • Saw first day-first show.Theater was almost full.We laughed and cried and smiled and cheered and shighed together with him.Brought us back to our childhood days ,that innings in Sharjah or That immortal 98 against Pakis in 2003 World Cup seemed to be alive again.#ThankyouSachin for everything

  • Heard it will collect 8-9 cr today despite competition with Half Girlfriend, Hindi Medium and POC 5,
    Imagine if it was a Commercial movie, not a documentary CRAZE ??

  • Great decision by Indicine , coz u told rightly it is a tribute to a great human,a great player and god of cricket………………thanks indicine.

  • for me MSD is the biggest cricketer in india ever produced . tentulkar played good but he can’t handle the pressure MSD is the one who gave india all trophy . for other record sachin is good but when it comes for cup he is 2 out 10 . look at his captincy record of sachin so MSD is a bigger dimond then him .

  • Sachin Tendulkar, the man who became God. No words to describe him, how can God be described in mere words?

  • The last sentence of your article gave me goosebumps… hats off indicine… always out of box …salute

  • Had already md up mind dat ds is a.must watch whn got ti know abt it through teaser ….dn heard of James Erkine ..was excited ki finally hard hittin superb documentary will b made …as he has done in d past and also coz he is a foreigner ..it will b a pragmatic approach and not lk bhaag milkha or evn to an extent dhoni kind of films …..den today i read some stuff abt sachin movie ki he is kept on a pedestal …controvrrsies r glossed over and ds dat ..got a bit disappointed ..but indicine review says otherwise and datz just great ….will watch tomorrow and share what i thought….
    Sachin sachin …

  • Sachin used to be a childhood hero of mine… I remember when I use to woke up early 4am matches …just to see Sachin innings… there also came a time in Indian cricket that if Sachin gets out early the entire team will fall below 100 runs…. BUT THAT love has changed drastically in fact gone beyond to hating him after realizing how he aim to get individual records…n just to get 100th century he wasted life’s of many struggling cricketers. Finally he scored against Bangladesh and again India lost that match …what a shame.. And also after getting to know him personally from my friends how he always ask for favours from government in everything even after earning a lot of money… And also the recent case of false news where Sachin gifted cars to the indian female wrestlers ONLY TO REALIZE THAT IT WAS Someone else money only he presented it to them…etc etc… I lost all respect. I will never watch this movie. India has had many greatest cricketers …except that they don’t get a chance and backup how Sachin got even after many failures. KOHLI is the only cricketer I feel who don’t look for personal records currently along with Hashim amla and Devillers…they are the champions to me.

  • Goosebumps !!!!!!!!!! Hopes !!!!!!!!!!!!! Pride !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Country !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cricket !!!!!!!!!!!!

    Sachin ~~~~~~~~~ Sachin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Sachin ~~~~~~~~~ Sachin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Sachin ~~~~~~~~~ Sachin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  • Goosebumps !!!!!!!!!! Hopes !!!!!!!!!!!!! Pride !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Country !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cricket !!!!!!!!!!!!

    Sachin ~~~~~~~~~ Sachin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Sachin ~~~~~~~~~ Sachin ~~~~~~~~~~

    Sachin ~~~~~~~~~ Sachin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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