BackA silly point
An Australian 'D-grade' cricket team's tour to India becomes the subject of a comedy
Premium
For Boyd Hicklin, the most surreal moment came on the steps of Filmcity in Mumbai. That’s when his little documentary-adventure-turned-feature film Save Your Legs! turned into a sequence involving thousands of choreographers, dancers and “over-the-top Bollywood songs".
“When I looked around, the realization hit me that it was much bigger than I ever anticipated," says Hicklin, the film’s director. “I was able to stand back and enjoy while the choreographers took over. To have the two groups working together—embarrassed Australian actors with the Indian dancers—and for them to take a chance on me…"
Save Your Legs! will be screened at the 14th Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) on 21 October, and will release in Australia in January. The reason Hicklin is keen to show the film here is because it has intrinsic Indian connections—through cricket, through real-life incidents and because of the two countries’ intense rivalry in the sport.
The film’s central character, Edward “Teddy" Brown (played by Stephen Curry), is obsessed with cricket, his park team and his mates. But once the players hit their mid-30s, they start to move on with their careers, mortgages and children. Ted’s Abbotsford Anglers team begins to struggle. He makes a desperate attempt to keep his friends’ passion alive by proposing to “represent Australia" on a cricket tour of India.
The film is based on real-life incidents and Ted’s character has more than its share of Hicklin himself. “Many elements of me are in the lead character," he says over the phone from London—his film has been screened at the ongoing 56th BFI London Film Festival.
In 2001, Hicklin, then an aspiring cricketer, had come with a “D" team, Abbotsford Anglers, to India and played in Chennai at the Madras Cricket Club, against the Calcutta Tramways Company in that city, versus a “toy shop" XI in Varanasi, a local team in Udaipur and at a junkyard in Jaipur. The tour ended in Mumbai, against a “very good" advertising agency team, on Azad Maidan. “The only game we won was in Jaipur," says Hicklin, laughing.
At the time, he had shot a documentary, which was shown on television in Australia. A decade later, his friends suggested he make it into a full-length feature; it was shot in Kolkata, Varanasi and Mumbai over five weeks from January.
Many of the situations shown in the film are real. “A lot of factual events have been heightened though. The comedy is not so much gags as situations and honesty in humour—real comedy as opposed to slapstick," says the director.
None of the players from that tour is in the film, except co-producer Nick Batzias, who was the No. 3 batsman for the Anglers. “There were some cameo appearances—like a newspaper seller in Kolkata, who reprised the same role," says Hicklin. One such cameo is by former New Zealand all-rounder Richard Hadlee.
Hicklin, who has been a graphic designer and has worked in advertising, has previously made a documentary on the Australian hockey team’s preparation for the 2008 Olympics, Peak ’08—The Road to Beijing. He says shooting cricketing sequences was difficult because of the massive grounds and lots of players. “It must be authentic or cricket fans will smell a rat. Fortunately, they are D-grade cricketers," he says.
The action sequences are like dances cut to music, with retro Bollywood music taken from the 1960s and 1970s movies. There is even a Bollywood version of the reggae song, I don’t like cricket, I love it (Dreadlock Holiday) by 10cc.
Hicklin says showing the film here is important to him because the country changed his life. “India opens your mind to possibilities of what people can do and how amazing humans can be," he says. “Every Indian says he plays cricket, and when you ask them whether they bat or bowl, they will tell you they are all-rounders. It’s just that belief: Whatever it is, you can do it yourself."
Save Your Legs! will be screened at the Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) on 21 October at 6pm at Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts—part of an Australian cultural festival in India, Oz Fest (till 5 February). It will release in Australia in January.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
