No caste at the crease

Ajay Devgn

Sometimes, heroes and their achievements are lost in the annals of time. Palwankar Baloo's is one such story, remembered only in the inner circles of Indian cricket. With his 2002 book, A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian History of a British Sport, historian Ramachandra Guha put the spotlight on Baloo, the country's first Dalit cricketer. Now, producers Ajay Devgn, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Priti Vinay Sinha are set to make a film on the sportsperson, who triumphed over caste discrimination to earn his rightful place on the pitch.

Starting out as a groundsman at cricket clubs in Pune, Baloo shifted to Bombay in 1896 and was selected to play for the Hindu Gymkhana. In 1911, the left-arm spin bowler played in the all-Indian team during their England tour in which he took 114 wickets. While today he is considered the greatest Indian cricketer of the early 20th century, he faced discrimination throughout his career as he belonged to oppressed caste. It is said that during tea intervals at matches, his tea would be brought separately outside as he was not allowed entry in the pavilion. His lunch was served at a separate table.

While in 2017, Dhulia had hinted at helming Baloo's biopic, he says he will only serve as a producer here. "No story could be stronger than this one," he says, remembering how he was impacted by the cricketer-political activist's journey. After he approached Sinha, she bought the book adaptation rights from Dr Guha, and story rights from Baloo's family.

The historian says that the producers' sincerity and years-long attachment to the material makes them the right people to take it to a wider audience. "I have admired Tigmanshu's work. I'm hopeful the [producers] will do justice to the extraordinary story. The story of the struggle of the Dalit cricketers, Baloo and his four brothers, is so important. People feel that Maharaja [KS] Ranjitsinh ji was the first great Indian cricketer, but it was Baloo. He was as great as Ranji - he was a bowler, not a batter; a Dalit, not a prince. He wasn't born with a silver spoon." Dr Guha highlights that since no records were available on the cricketer, he referred to old newspapers for his book.

Tigmanshu Dhulia, Priti Sinha and Ramachandra Guha

"He was completely obscure till I researched his life and brought him into the public domain. After doing a lot of research, I pieced together the details of his life as a cricketer and what Baloo meant to the Dalits of western India in his time. It's the pre-Ambedkar story of the Dalit struggle." The makers have yet to lock the lead actor and director for the biopic. Hoping to roll the film by the year-end, Sinha says, "We are inspired by Baloo's incredible story of courage, mental strength and sportsmanship."