Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsLove Beyond 22 Yards is a collection of immortal
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 11 July 2018
Bollywood and Cricket, the two religions that unite Indians across the globe. When they come together, the attraction is magnetic. Through the years, heroes on the field have been bowled over by silver screen goddesses.
Some of them broke conventions and defied societal norms. Love Beyond 22 Yards is a collection of immortal, true love stories between cricketers and Bollywood divas, who dared to fight against the world for their love.
Love knows no bounds; when it happens, it happens irrespective of caste, creed, status, race, gender and religion. ‘Love beyond 22 Yards’ is a collection of short biographies of the gladiators with a bat.
The first chapter itself, isn’t very compelling as such. The author, for the most of the part of the story, tells us what is happening rather than showing us. It feels like more of a Wikipedia page.
The stories and information was just a basic compilation of the real stuff that could be discovered while surfing the net for a while. I think while the idea of writing the stories of these cricketers is an original and interesting one, the same cannot be said for the narration.
The book could have been much better if the narration were to be on point. It required some more research and deep insight. But instead, what it becomes is a collection of a couple interviews and news articles within a few pages.
“Tiger and the Tagore Girl”, is about the love story of Mohamed Mansoor Ali Khan, the eighth Nawab of Pataudi, and Sharmila Tagore, the shining star of the then Bollywood industry. A love that broke all the boundaries and made a happy haven of their own.
“The Caribbean Connection”, is the most fascinating one. The love affair between Sir Vivian Richards and actress Neena Gupta, which was the most discussed affair of that time. The story which had an unusual end, the kind that could make the Indians of that time cringe.
“Love Across The Border”, has stories of the most anticipated kind, mostly because of our age old obsession with anyone India-Pakistan. The love between Imran Khan and Zeenat Aman, that did not last for long. And the story of Mohsin Khan and Reena Roy, a marriage that took their success along with it, and did not even last for long.
“Mohammad Azharuddin- Life, love and more”, following the Bollywood movie, Azhar, the story is about the life of Azharuddin.. How he fell for Sangeeta Bijlani, the Miss India title holder of 1980, while he was a married man, and the misfortunes that followed. And yet, here, I have to say that i liked the movie much better
The author hardly introduces us to the characters, and trust me, if they weren’t such known celebrities I might not have cared for them. The conversations, at points, don’t feel realistic.
And lastly, of course, I feel that if it would have been done in a more storyteller way, the characters would have stood out, which they definitely do not right now.
“She simply said to herself, isn’t this what love is all about? Listening to the heart and living for the moment”
I don’t think that I need to mention that this was a book that could have been better on so many levels. I won’t recommend it as a book to have high expectations with, but I feel that it’s a readable book on a lazy Sunday when you just need a giddy and hopeless yet realistic contemporary romance.
