Beyond All Boundaries – Film Review

“When you win the country goes mad, when you lose the country goes mad.”

                                                                       – Yuvraj Singh, National Team Member

March 20th, 2014   As hockey is to Canada, soccer to England and football to American, so is cricket to India.  In a country divided by language, religion, region, cast and class, cricket is the one unifying force that can uplift a nation. The religious fervour with which Indian’s pray to this holiest of alter is without peer.

India’s last glory days of cricket dates back to the 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup. This coupled with the unthinkable horror in 2007 when they failed to qualify and a nations pride hobbled by drought now became awash in regret. With the new and improved 2011 National Team now looking to bring the ‘83 glory days back to the Indian sub-continent, Director, Sushrut Jain demystifies the regal sport of cricket by revealing the zeal that saturates every corner of Indian society and the grinding pressures on youth that makes cricket a metaphor for life in Beyond All Boundaries.

Thirty year old Sudhir Kumar Gautum had cast off all the trappings of relationships and marriage, to the chagrin of his parents, only to follow his one true love, India’s National Cricket Team. Somewhat of a local celebrity, this penniless painted super-fan steeped in pre-game rituals and viewed with Peter Pan reverence travels the countryside by bicycle to galvanize the cricketing faithful everywhere. Elevated to untouchable deities of Bollywood royalty, the numerous glossy billboards of national team members that dot the metropolitan skylines, pitching everything from Pepsi-Cola to PowerAde, stands as a testament to their top of the food chain status.  And if you think this male dominated sport only attracts the XY demographic, 18 year old Akshaya and legions of XX’ers will easily prove you wrong.

Not only is scrapbooking national team members her hobby, Akshaya, an up and coming bowler, spends the better part of her days with the ladies cricket league at Shivaji Park. Each national team roster is still an unimaginable numbers game with so many what ifs to contend with along the way but, for many impoverished youth, making the national men’s or woman’s team would lay the foundation for unthinkable fame and fortune, not just for them but for their extended families too.  Think of this as the cricket equivalent of Gretzky and Wickenheiser. With selections for the Mumbai Under 19 Team up for grabs, foregoing her studies for a chance to be a future pro cricketer is a hedge Akshaya is willing to take.

It’s said that youth are the future and for cricketing prodigy Prithvi Shaw, his promising career started getting noticed at the tender age of 3.  By the age of 8 he was already making the Under 14 Selection Teams.  National coverage from journalists and coaches alike spoke his praises as the ongoing grooming process continued.  But life for the Shaw family was never easy. With the death of his mother from cancer and a doting father of little means, Prithvi shouldered the pressure for success with every swing of his bat.