The England Test Series 2018

In November 2017, I'd written how important 2018 was for Indian cricket.  Here's a follow-up.

Well, the first of those tours happened in March - South Africa. And India was in a winning position in all the three tests, but managed to win only one, to ultimately lose the series 2-1. The other two matches we lost were purely down to focus and match awareness.

So, the tally for 2018 stands at LLW. 2 wins and 1 loss.

We are now at the cusp of the second big series this year, England. The prospect is mouth-watering, with a full 5 match series, perhaps for the very first time.

I think our batting will be alright, but the concern for me is the bowling, especially the fast bowlers. With Bumrah and Bhuvi down with injuries, we're left with the lower capabilities of Ishant, Shami and Umesh.

Having said that, my prediction for the series? 2-2 after 4 tests with the 5th being a decider. Watch this space if my prediction comes true!

Review of Sanju

Third good movie in a row in 2018! But I call 'Sanju' a good movie without conviction. It's been a week since I saw Sanju (twice), and I've been grappling with myself on how should this movie be rated. While sipping ginger-laced chai on my balcony, it finally dawned on me.

To begin with, the movie has many flaws:

• There are very few scenes that Ranbir actually looks or acts like Sanjay Dutt. The rest is our own imagination
• The make up to make Sanju look old is hilarious. That's what happens when make-up is made out
• The editing is shoddy at times. 
• Winnie the ice babe suddenly becomes Winnie the weeper. Come on, don't take us for granted.
• I understand Hirani's brand of humour (making light of serious situations), but the Boman Irani dead body scene crosses the line, and the background slapstick score makes it worse
• This was the 80s-90s, not the 50s-60s. I just didn't understand why they insisted on costumes from a period much before the story's period. I guess they couldn't figure what costumes to use. Camera filters perhaps would have done the trick.

Sorry Mr. Hirani. I had to point these out. But, in spite of these shortcomings, I will still label this movie good, but not brilliant. Why good? 

At a high-level, this is a 'fighting-all-odds' movie, therefore inspirational. At a lower level, I think each one of us connects with Sanjay Dutt in one way or the other. For a teenager,  it's Munnabhai. For the 20-somethings, it's Vaastav. And you can keep rewinding to Khalnayak, Saajan and Rocky. We all somehow know this bloke, and of course who wouldn't want to know about what really happened. That's one way the audience is hooked. 

On another plane, this movie tugs at your curious heart, one through the father and the other through the friend. And there you have a formula. A winning one at that.

I wonder how someone who doesn't know Sanju Baba at all will react to this movie. Know anyone like that?