Kaun Pravin Tambe? Movie Review: Grounded sports drama with priorities in place

April 1, 2022

The movie is a biopic of the cricketer Pravin Tambe known for his IPL debut at the age of 41 with no experience of professional cricket before that.

When a film opens with a clip of Rahul Dravid speaking about the man who’s going to be the protagonist of the story you are about to witness, it’s just normal to have a sudden surge of curiosity. Kaun Pravin Tambe just establishes the direction it’s going to take from merely the choice of title the movie goes with. The movie is exactly about discovering the man behind the name Pravin Tambe. For a country that has witnessed this late bloomer through IPL, the movie attempts to unravel the life behind the man who became publicly relevant only at the age of 41. Like most biopics, the attempt is to show that overnight successes don’t sprout out of anywhere overnight.

The Story

The movie is a biopic of the cricketer Pravin Tambe who became the oldest cricketer to debut in IPL when he was picked by Rajasthan Royals in 2013 at the age of 41. The story captures his journey from a humble background in Mumbai to a sporting star he became much later in life. It’s a story of his relentless grit and undying passion for cricket. But like every success story, his story is also riddled with repeated failures as he tries to manage the many facets of life while trying to establish himself as a professional cricketer and make his dream come true.

The Review

The movie starts off on a lighter note but doesn’t take much time before letting the conflict flow. For Pravin, his love for cricket and his dream of one day playing in the Ranji Trophy means having to make sacrifices elsewhere, professionally and family-wise.

This is when the film dives into the background of the protagonist and takes us through the journey up until then. It’s easy to see why Pravin has a love for the game having played it ever since his childhood days.

Like many youngsters in India, Pravin also dreamt of playing cricket. But his dream was limited in that aspect as he just wished to play Ranji once- a dream while humble for a man of his talent but still harder to achieve in a country like India.

The strength of this movie is the grounded nature in which the story is told with few overtly dramatized moments. Both on-the-ground and off-the-ground conflict is covered with some truly touchy moments. In the end, the movie is not only a tribute to the struggle which Pravin Tambe went through but also to the family who stood by him through much of it. His brother forms a pillar of support for him and there’s due attention given to the relationship between the two.

Many characters who played a monumental role in Tambe’s life are shown in the movie with each character adding a different dynamic to the story. Ashish Vidyarthi in the role of his coach and Parambrata Chaterjee as the arrogant disapproving journalist all add to the drama.

Even then, the movie which seems a little dragged by the climax doesn’t give up on the grounded nature of the movie which makes it an enjoyable watch. Humour and drama both go hand-in-hand to make this biopic an engaging watch that while telling a lesser-known story doesn’t fall into the trap of most cricket-based movies.

The underwhelming aspect of the movie is the climax though. The particular moment at which the struggle ends doesn’t feel like the payoff that was needed to conclude the story. Maybe handling it a bit differently and creatively would have made this movie more well-rounded and whole.

The Verdict

Shreyas Talpade, who had already played a cricketer in the 2005 coming-of-age sports drama Iqbal, justifies the character he plays with sincerity and heart in Kaun Pravin Tambe? The story and cast are refreshing for a sports movie and while the structure of the narrative is close to most sports-based movies, the movie accomplishes to honestly tell a story that’s engaging with limited distractions, unlike the last cricket-based movie this country witnessed.