Sachin biopic: Ramakant Achrekar emotional after watching 'Endulkar' incident

Sachin Tendulkar, Ramakat Achrekar with his daughter Vishaka Dalvi and grandson Vaidik Murkar in Versova. Pic/Sameer Markande

It was a rather emotional evening for Sachin Tendulkar's childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar who watched the special screening of his ward's biopic Sachin: A Billion Dreams on Wednesday.

The 85-year-old coach watched the film with his daughter Vishaka Dalvi and grandson Vaidik Murkar, which saw Bollywood stars and the entire Indian cricket team in attendance. Recollecting how Achrekar sat throughout the film, his daughter said that he was a proud coach yesterday since Sachin has always been special to him. Asked about any moment in the film that made Achrekar emotional, Dalvi revealed that he got touchy during the 'Endulkar' scene.

It was a shot form of the era after the doomed 2007 World Cup campaign, when the statements from Ian Chappell made Tendulkar livid. Chappell had said after the World Cup that Tendulkar should take a 'good long look in the mirror' and think about retiring. "My dad can't speak, but his expression said it all. He loved the film and is proud of him as always. He has seen the rise right from the time he was a child. But when the portion of 'Endulkar' was shown, he got too emotional," Dalvi told mid-day yesterday.

She added how the Master Blaster gave importance to his coach despite attending to guests. "Sachin came and touched his feet before posing for photographs. It was his big day, but he ensured that my dad was well taken care of. Both Sachin and my father were very happy to watch the film together. Sachin even came to drop my dad to the car after the movie got over," she added.

Vaidik added that when he saw himself on screen, he couldn't control his emotions. "Seeing himself (Achrekar sir) on screen, tears of happiness welled up in his eyes," he said.