Mother Dairy has rolled out a film that celebrates an 'unsung hero'. Green Bench Media was the production house.
The film opens in Bhainswal village of Haryana, as a man narrates his story. He's running before dawn in sports attire, passing hordes of youngsters training to be champions. Some in wrestling, some in swimming, and others in gilli-danda. He too wanted to be a champion, says the narrator, in cricket.
He is Deepak Malik, an aspiring cricketer who lost his eyesight at the age of eight during Diwali celebrations with fireworks. He lost most of his eyesight in 2004. Malik's parents were made aware of a school for the blind in Delhi. Malik, now depressed and lonely, moved there and realised his dream of playing cricket for the nation, moving from the school team to the State team and then the national team. He was selected to represent the Indian cricket team for the blind.
He represented India for the first time during an India tour of Pakistan. He mentions how he was part of the team that beat Pakistan in the (Blind) World Cup, Asia Cup and T20 World Cup, when the Indian team went on to win the respective tournaments.
Mother Dairy leveraged its principal sponsorship of the Delhi Daredevils by getting Malik to play a match with some of the players of the team, including captain and pacer Zaheer Khan. As Khan congratulates him for being a champion, Malik responds that the game has just begun.
The film appeals to viewers to support the blind cricket team and donate via milaap.com.
