Directed by James Erskine, Sachin: A Billion Dreams takes you on the incredible journey of Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, reliving moments from a time where things were simple and the country were trying to make its mark on the world.
Filmed with insightful interviews from fellow cricketers, family members and friends of Sachin, it shows you every detail in his life, from when he was a young boy starting out to when he played his last ever game. It shows the ups and downs and how Sachin got through anything. As long as he had his passion for the game – nothing was to stop him.
When his sister presented him with a cricket bat at the age of ten, you can tell that from then on Sachin knew what he was going to do with the rest of his life. He would practice at the nets everyday as well as attend school and play with his friends. It was becoming his life. He had so much unconditional love for the sport that “cricket was like oxygen” to him. The ups and downs in his life never stopped him, even after a brutal injury to his nose. He simply “became fearless after that”.
It is incredible to see a man come so far, from being a young prodigy at the age of 16 when he joined the Indian cricket team, to being “not so much an icon, but an emotion” today even after retirement.
What differentiates Sachin to most sportsmen is that fame doesn’t get to him as easily. He understood he needed money to support his family and being a living legend on the cricket pitch came with that. It came with fame and wealth, which he doesn’t take for granted. He would see it as a way of looking out for his family and that is that. He played cricket because he loved it. It was his passion. He lived and breathed cricket. He even put it above his wife and kids, which they knew and understood. It wasn’t a selfish thing, it was simply a part of him.
This film is not only inspiring to cricket fans and sportsmen and women alike, but for people who understand what it’s like to have dreams and a want to achieve them. Sachin achieved his, so why can’t we?
With the running time being just over 2 hours long, it does drag on a bit with a few scenes not being necessary. However, the whole thing is filled with raw emotion that is honest, it touches you unconditionally.
