top of page

By:

Amey Chitale

28 October 2024 at 5:29:02 am

Bumrah: Turning Pressure Into Poetry

The victorious strategist wins first and then goes to battle Mumbai: Two years ago in Barbados, the scars of India’s crushing ODI World Cup final defeat still lingered and the drought of ICC titles weighed heavily. India had seized control in the middle overs, only to see it slip under Heinrich Klaasen’s fierce assault. With South Africa needing 30 off 30 balls and their in-form batter at the crease, momentum appeared lost. That was when he stepped in to halt the Proteas’ surge. His spells...

Bumrah: Turning Pressure Into Poetry

The victorious strategist wins first and then goes to battle Mumbai: Two years ago in Barbados, the scars of India’s crushing ODI World Cup final defeat still lingered and the drought of ICC titles weighed heavily. India had seized control in the middle overs, only to see it slip under Heinrich Klaasen’s fierce assault. With South Africa needing 30 off 30 balls and their in-form batter at the crease, momentum appeared lost. That was when he stepped in to halt the Proteas’ surge. His spells in the 16th and 18th overs slowed the chase and turned the tide. While Suryakumar Yadav’s spectacular boundary catch grabbed the headlines, his economy of 4.5 and two crucial wickets quietly shifted the balance. India’s fightback was shaped not just at the boundary but through the calm precision of his bowling. Two years later, India were defending a towering 255 at the Wankhede Stadium. Yet, as often happens with big totals, complacency crept in and the game began to slip away. Bethell’s ferocious hitting had nearly turned the contest in England’s favour. Once again, the captain turned to his trusted lieutenant—Mr Reliable. Summoned in the 16th and 18th overs, he delivered with precision. With the asking rate nearing 14, he conceded just 14 runs. Brutal yorkers speared at the batter’s legs, leaving little room to manoeuvre. It was a masterclass in control under pressure, steadying India’s grip on the game. He stayed cool under pressure, handling the storm without surrendering psychologically. While Sanju Samson’s brilliance and Axar Patel’s composure grabbed the headlines, it was again his quiet mastery that helped India regain momentum. Over the years, he has embodied consistency and resilience, thriving when others faltered. Fame and glamour were never his pursuit, yet his presence has often proved decisive—felt in every crunch moment and crucial spell. He is not just a match-winner but a craftsman of control, a bowler who bends the game’s rhythm to his will. Among Greatest Indeed, Jasprit Bumrah ranks among cricket’s greatest fast bowlers—the unsung hero of Barbados and Wankhede, turning pressure into poetry with the ball. His spells are more than memorable moments; they are calculated interventions delivered at the precise juncture where pressure, timing and psychology shape the contest. Not merely a frontline warrior, he is a tactical commander, orchestrating the battle with precision and authority. Sun Tzu, in The Art of War , reminds us: “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” The finest generals do not merely attack soldiers; they dismantle strategy. Jasprit Bumrah does exactly that—targeting the batter’s confidence, disrupting the innings’ rhythm and shrinking the time for the chase. At crucial moments, he punctures momentum with precision. Sun Tzu wrote that supreme excellence lies in winning without prolonged battle. Bumrah’s spells are not about dramatic collapses but strategic strangulation. Sustained pressure erodes decision-making and forces errors. His bowling values control over spectacle.   Shivaji Maharaj’s military brilliance lay in using limited resources with strategic precision. His campaigns relied on small, decisive strikes delivered at unexpected moments. With only four overs at his disposal, Jasprit Bumrah turns risk into opportunity—his very presence carrying the aura that, once deployed, the battle will shift. Turning Risks Just as Shivaji Maharaj’s triumphs relied on trusted commanders, India’s victories here hinged on Bumrah’s quiet precision. He was not merely a bowler in the lineup but the commander whose interventions reshaped the contest. A deeper lesson lies in these performances. In an age that glorifies speed and instant success, Bumrah’s craft reminds us that true mastery rests on preparation, clarity and composure under pressure. Success—whether in sport or life—is rarely one dramatic act but the result of discipline and the courage to step forward when the moment matters most. Sun Tzu wrote, “The victorious strategist wins first and then goes to battle.” Bumrah’s spells reflect that philosophy. His impact lies not in sudden collapses but in calculated control, where each delivery serves a larger plan. Cricket fields and historic battlefields may seem worlds apart, yet their strategies often mirror each other. Batters’ blazing strokes may dominate highlight reels, but the quiet control of bowlers like Bumrah often decides a match. He does not simply bowl; he reshapes the battlefield.

Why are cinema writers marginalised in awards?

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

There is a need to promote and encourage the best writers who put light on the cinemas


Why are cinema writers marginalised in awards

The 70 th Annual National Awards for films, actors, music directors and technicians in 2022 were declared on August 16. The Awards are decided by a jury chosen carefully by the members of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on the basis of these members’ track record and experience in the film industry. There is a section on Feature Films in the national category and then there are Best Feature films in regional languages. There is also a section in non-fiction or documentary films classified into many sections which is very beneficial for relative newcomers and documentary filmmakers whose films are open only in film festivals.

There is one more category known as the Best Writing on Cinema. This is divided into two segments – The Best Book on Cinema and The Best Writing on Cinema with a separate expert jury. All Indian regional languages including English entries can be submitted by entrants. While the Best Book on Cinema is chosen from entries of entire books on cinema entered by authors, the Best Writing on Cinema is for a collection of published articles published with the byline of the journalists and clippings of the published articles during the year prior to the award. Best Writing on Indian Cinema in both sections are awarded with Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus).

Though the National Awards for different sections of cinema began in 1954, the Writing awards began in 1981 at the 29th National Film Awards However, the media pays scant attention to the Best Writing Awards and as a result, many brilliant journalists and authors specializing in cinema do not send their entries for selection. The time-span between media announcement of entries and the last date is so marginal that many writers miss out on sending in their entries. Surprisingly, several filmmakers have bagged the National Award for the Best Writing on Cinema in the Best Books section. Among them are Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Cinemayude Lokam) in Malayalam in 1983, veteran actress Bhanumathi Ramakrishna (Naalo Nenu) in Telugu, noted actor Bharath Gopi for the book Abhinava Anibhavan in Malayalam in 1993.

The first award for journalistic articles in the same “Best Writing on Cinema” was begun in the year 1984 and the award went to Swapan Mullick who was then in an editorial position in The Statesman in Kolkata. The following year, the award went to the famous veteran writer, journalist and filmmaker Chidananda Dasgupta. Joshy Joseph, a national-award-winning filmmaker of documentary films, bagged this award in writing on cinema in 2010.

Very few eminent journalists have bagged these two awards under the Best Writing on Cinema mainly because it lacks publicity, media coverage and so on. Fewer journalists have bagged both the awards in this category – for the Best Book and for the Best Articles on Cinema in previous years. Among them is Manmohan Singh Chadda who won both awards for the Best Book on Cinema and for the Best Film Critic in Hindi. He still involves in research on cinema.

This writer is the only woman who has won both awards, the Best Articles in 1990 and for the Best Book on Cinema in English in 2002. This section demands more media coverage and a longer span for entry into the competition which has great jury members and the awards, as far as I know, is completely free of political interference.

(The writer is a film enthusiast. The views are personal.)

Comments

bottom of page