This 2009 release featuring a star kid and 50 cricketers including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma saw India beat Australia, with many fans calling it a prediction of the 2023 World Cup final.
They say that India has two religions – cricket and cinema. But for the longest time, the two could not coincide successfully. The films that were made on cricket were almost universally critically panned and commercially unsuccessful. Aamir Khan’s Lagaan changed that and it started a new flurry of cricket-based films in Bollywood. Some adopted for more amount of realism, none more so than this 2009 bug budget sports drama that starred 50 real cricketers from around the world.
The film with star kid in the lead and 50 real cricketers
In 2009, Ajit Pal Mangat directed a sports drama named Victory. The film, which was released in January, focused on a fictitious cricketer named Vijay Shekhawat, who realises his dream of playing for Team India. The film starred Harman Baweja as Vijay, alog with Amrita Rao, Anupam Kher, Gulshan Grover, and Dalip Tahil. The film also featured as many as 50 actve and former international cricketers from around the world, including superstars of the game Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Brett Lee, Mike Hussey, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, Harbhajan Singh, AB de Villiers, Graeme Smith, and many others.
Why Victory was called India’s ‘worst sports film’
Victory was shot on real locations in India and Australia, using real cricketers and broadcasters in real stadiums. However, all this emphasis on realism did not translate into quality. On its release, Victory was panned by critics and crucified by the audiences. The film has an IMDb ratng of 3.8, one of the lowest for all sports films produced in India. The film was also a massive box office bomb. Produced on a budget of Rs 19 crore, it managed to earn only just over Rs 1 crore at the box office. It was Harman Baweja’s second successive flop after his debut Love Story 2050.
How Victory predicted an Indian win of Australia
But Victory has gained newfound fame on social media over the last few days. The reason for that is the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 final, where India will battle Australia.In Victory, Team India similarly faced off against Australia (captained by Ricky Ponting no less) in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. The climax included Vijay Shekhawat return from a head injury and lead India to victory, hammering Brett Lee and Stuart Clark for sixes in a chase of 388. Videos from that ‘chase’ have now goe viral on social media.
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 "India vs Australia final in Victory")
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