'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' review: You don't have to be a cricket fan to want to give it a standing ovation

The film opens with a home video from 1997, of Sachin holding his newborn daughter Sara. It ends with a rare video clip of his father Ramesh. These bookends capture the USP of the film. It takes us into the one unseen corner of Sachin Tendulkar’s otherwise very public life – his home.

Two scenes deserve a special mention, and they may whet the appetite of Tendulkar fans. We see Sachin pulling down son Arjun’s shorts during bedtime roughhousing, after which Arjun rains kicks on his dad. Sachin, having himself been a handful in his childhood, laughs through the blows, only telling Arjun, “Pathi var nahi (not on the back).”

In another, swag-filled sequence, Sachin and his friends walk out into the dark to a karting track. “Let’s drive rough,” Sachin says, calling to mind Fast & Furious. And the gang burns rubber to the tune of Bappi Lahiri’s Yaad aa raha hai, among Sachin’s favourite songs.

The only staged bits of the film are at the start, when Sachin’s boyhood is portrayed. They are shot in Tendulkar’s childhood home in Sahitya Sahawas colony. This lends the scenes authenticity. The casting is spot-on as well. And the props are true to the 80s. In one scene, Sachin’s coach Ramakant Achrekar rides his scooter past a poster of Utsav.

Don’t expect full disclosure on matchfixing, Vinod Kambli or the Ferrari controversy. Maybe it will come out of a later introspection of his career. And in any case, Sachin’s feats far outweigh his failings. Like the man, the film too is a curious mix at times. But it will find your heartstrings. You will laugh, reminisce, even cry a bit, and once again appreciate the sheer dedication and body of work of this man. And maybe the film will make you chase a few dreams of your own.