This is as uncanny as it gets, but 2021 will end up with two back to back releases which are based on cricket -- '83 and Jersey.
COVID ended up being a spanner in the plans for many film-makers and hence it is inevitable that such scenarios will crop up.
That said, over the years a few films have indeed done well with cricket as the backdrop.
One would have expected the list to be longer and box office collections to be mightier, considering India is a cricket crazy nation, says Joginder Tuteja as he lists the cricket movies which have done well.
'83
This is the biggest film that has been made on a notable cricket event.
1983 was a landmark year for Indian cricket when the team won the World Cup, and now that wonderful history is being retold with Ranveer Singh stepping into the part of then cricket captain Kapil Dev.
Sajid Nadiadwala has backed this multi-crore extravaganza that has held onto its release for over a year-and-a-half.
With Director Kabir Khan calling the shots, expect this film to be a classy affair with factual elements been explored in an entertaining manner. Releasing on December 24.
Jersey
The remake of the namesake South film, Jersey sees Shahid Kapoor playing a failed cricketer and father who returns to the cricket pitch.
Shahid's last screen outing was Kabir Singh in 2019 and that film was an all time blockbuster.
Though 2020 and 2021 were the years that he would have wanted to capitalise most on Kabir Singh's success, COVID played spoilsport.
Jersey is set to be an emotional tearjerker with a lot of thrilling moments. Releasing on December 31.
M.S. Dhoni - The Untold Story
Box office collection: Rs 133.50 crores
The biggest box office success that Bollywood has seen for a film based on cricket, M.S. Dhoni - The Untold Story turned out to be a cult film on its release itself.
With Sushant Singh Rajput embodying the character of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Neeraj Pandey ensuring that he gave audiences more than what they would have asked for, the film emerged a huge hit.
Lagaan
Box office collection: Rs 30 crores
The Aamir Khan starrer Lagaan is one of the modern day classics that the Indian film industry has produced in its 100 plus years of existence.
Director Ashutosh Gowariker's most accomplished work, this fictional tale set in the British Raj has garnered cult status in its 20-year existence.
Lagaan stays on timeless as ever.
Dishoom
Box office collection: Rs 70 crores
With John Abraham and Varun Dhawan in the lead roles, Dishoom is a popcorn entertainer that keeps the adrenalin pumping.
It has a cricket backdrop with Saqib Saleem playing a top cricketer who is kidnapped by a bookie played by Akshaye Khanna.
The film was a decent success at the box office, though it should have done better given its credentials.
Sachin - A Billion Dreams
Box office collection: Rs 50.89 crores
When you make a film on a legend, you better promote it on that scale as well. Surprisingly, that didn't quite turn out to be the case with Sachin - A Billion Dreams which only saw a sporadic promotional and marketing push.
The documentary was released in theatres and went on to be a decent success at the box office. It has surprisingly not been pushed much on the OTT and satellite medium.
A legend like Sachin Tendulkar deserves better.
Azhar
Box office collection: Rs 33 crores
The Mohammad Azharuddin biopic featured Emraan Hashmi in the title role.
The cricketer had seen quite a few ups and downs in his personal life and those were narrated in quick time by Director Tony D'souza.
The film was backed by Producer Ekta Kapoor and though it did have quite a few exciting sequences, it just about covered the distance. It should have done better.
Jannat
Box office collection: Rs 32 crores
Released at a time when Emraan Hashmi was at his peak and delivering number of successes as the 'bad boy', Jannat featured the actor in an interesting part where his predictions around the game of cricket came true.
Betting, match fixing, crime, drama -- Jannat had it all. Moreover, there were good commercial elements added to the film, especially music by Pritam, which resulted in the film emerging a big hit.
Ferrari Ki Sawaari
Box office collection: Rs 32 crores
Sharman Joshi's biggest box office success in a solo lead, Ferrari Ki Sawaari was a Vidhu Vinod Chopra production which arrived in the wake of all time blockbuster success of 3 Idiots.
The film was a smile-through affair which featured Ritwik Sahore as the young boy who dreamt of Sachin Tendulkar's Ferrari and emerged as a cricketing talent.
With Sharman as the supporting father, this Rajesh Mapuskar directed film was a hit.
Dil Bole Hadippa
Box office collection: Rs 23.35 crores
One of YRF's least remembered films in which both Shahid Kapoor and Rani Mukherji played cricketers.
A film which entertained only sporadically, it did feature a couple of foot-tapping songs, but that's about it.
Though Dil Bole Hadippa was designed as a comedy, the laughs were far and few and the film couldn't really cover much of a distance.
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