Sachin: A Billion Dreams encapsulates the life and times of cricketing living legend Sachin Tendulkar. The docu-drama, produced by Ravi Bhagchandka and directed by James Erskine, promises to be a breakthrough for the Master Blaster’s fans, with music by A R Rahman. James and Ravi say it wasn’t an easy film to make, and they shot so much footage that they can make a series of films on Sachin. The film stars Sachin as himself and his son Arjun as his young self.
“I used to play cricket and I met Sachin in 2012. I had watched a lot of films on sportsmen such as Michael Jordan (basketball player), Muhammad Ali (heavyweight boxer) and Ayrton Senna (F1 racer). We decided to make a film on Sachin so that people would know his struggles, his family’s struggles, high and low moments, and what other players thought of him. We wanted a human story. We wanted to show how he was as a man on family vacations,” says Ravi.
London-based James says Ravi convinced Sachin about the movie. “I was in London when Ravi called and said he was making a film on Sachin. I met Sachin and Anjali Tendulkar in 2014. I’ve made two films on football. I follow cricket and saw Sachin when he was growing up, and when he scored his first 100 in Yorkshire,” says James.
Why did Ravi choose a director from the West and not an Indian? “Sachin’s aura is very huge in India, and I wanted someone to look at him very objectively and not as a fan. James knew Sachin as a cricketer and nothing more than that. Writers Sivakumar Ananth from the south and Sandeep Srivastav, who has written films such as Ab Tak Chappan and Kabul Express, helped James with the script,” explains Ravi.
James says there were many layers to Sachin. “Sachin was so big in India. What Don Bradman means to Australia, Sachin means to India,” he says.
James believes that media has played a large role in cricket. “Virat Kohli can never be the same as Sachin because media has changed so much. When Sachin started out in 1989, India was so different. Today we have social media, everything is so exposed,” says James, who met cricketers from all cricket-playing countries. “We exchanged emails with Shoaib Akhtar; Shane Warne gave a lot of inputs. I never knew how close they were. I got Virat Kohli’s young perspective. Nasser Hussain was fun too.” Aamir Khan also gave inputs for the film.
The movie is not a Wikipedia, they say. “It has a plot and how the hero sets on his journey and overcomes obstacles. It’s an emotional journey, you’ll laugh and cry. Sachin was very committed and shared his part of his story,” says James.
“Sachin will narrate his film in Hindi, English and Marathi. He enjoys being on camera,” smiles Ravi.
James has watched M S Dhoni: The Untold Story. “I want to watch more Bollywood movies now. I’ve watched a lot of mainstream Hollywood movies. I’m a Jennifer Lopez fan,” he laughs.