Class of '83

{{Infobox film

| name = Class of '83

| image = Class of '83 film poster.jpg

| caption = Netflix release poster

| director = Atul Sabharwal

| producer = {{ubl|Gauri Khan|Gaurav Verma}}

| writer = Abhijeet Deshpande

| based_on = {{Based on|The Class of 83|Hussain Zaidi}}

| production_companies = Red Chillies Entertainment

| distributor = Netflix

| starring = Bobby Deol

| music = Viju Shah

| cinematography = Mario Poljac

| editing = Manas Mittal

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2020|08|21|ref1={{Cite web|date=6 August 2020|title=Bobby Deol starrer Class Of '83 to premiere on August 21 on Netflix|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/bollywood/bobby-deol-starrer-class-of-83-to-premiere-on-august-21-on-netflix/|access-date=6 August 2020|website=Bollywood Hungama|archive-date=8 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808013519/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/bollywood/bobby-deol-starrer-class-of-83-to-premiere-on-august-21-on-netflix/|url-status=live}}}}

| runtime = 98 minutes{{cite web|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/class-of-83-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00otgynje|title=Class of '83 (2020)|website=British Board of Film Classification|access-date=19 August 2020|archive-date=15 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215024634/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/class-of-83-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00otgynje|url-status=live}}

| country = India

| language = Hindi

}}

Class of '83 is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and directed by Atul Sabharwal for Netflix.{{cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/bobby-deol-to-make-his-digital-debut-with-shah-rukh-khans-netflix-original-class-of-83-2129393.html|title=Bobby Deol to Make His Digital Debut with Shah Rukh Khan's Netflix Original Class of '83|date=6 May 2019|access-date=6 May 2019|archive-date=9 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509131141/https://www.news18.com/news/movies/bobby-deol-to-make-his-digital-debut-with-shah-rukh-khans-netflix-original-class-of-83-2129393.html|url-status=live}} The film is based on the book "The Class of 83" and tells the story of a hero policeman shunted to a punishment posting as the dean of the police academy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/class-of-83-first-look-bobby-deol-as-a-dean-who-is-a-class-apart-in-red-chillies-cop-drama-2263962|title=Class Of '83 First Look: Bobby Deol As "A Dean Who Is A Class Apart" In Red Chillies' Cop Drama|website=NDTV.com|access-date=5 August 2020|archive-date=21 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821061247/https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/class-of-83-first-look-bobby-deol-as-a-dean-who-is-a-class-apart-in-red-chillies-cop-drama-2263962|url-status=live}} The film premiered on 21 August 2020 on Netflix.{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/reel/970349/in-atul-sabharwals-class-of-83-a-tragic-hero-who-loses-a-lot-before-gaining-something|title=In Atul Sabharwal's 'Class of '83', a tragic hero 'who loses a lot before gaining something'|first=Devarsi|last=Ghosh|website=Scroll.in|date=18 August 2020|access-date=19 August 2020|archive-date=18 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818203008/https://scroll.in/reel/970349/in-atul-sabharwals-class-of-83-a-tragic-hero-who-loses-a-lot-before-gaining-something|url-status=live}}

At the 2021 Filmfare OTT Awards, Class of '83 received 2 nominations – Best Actor in a Web Original Film (Bobby Deol) and Best Supporting Actor in a Web Original Film (Bhupendra Jadawat).

Plot

{{Blockquote|A hero policeman shunted to a punishment posting as the Dean of the police academy decides to punish the corrupt bureaucracy and its criminal allies in return by training five lethal assassin policemen. But, like all good plans, it only works for a while until the fire that he has ignited threatens to burn his own house down.|Netflix|title=|source=}}

Class of 83, which is based on a book authored by leading crime journalist Hussain Zaidi, is set in Bombay in the 1980s when the underworld’s stranglehold on the city was becoming hard to break. Dozens of young men rendered jobless as a result of the ongoing mill strike were being lured into joining local gangs, and the nexus between powerful politicians and criminal gang leaders made it hard for the police to weed out the problem. With this as the backdrop, the film follows an ideological cop-turned-trainer who moulds five cadets into encounter specialists.

Yanked off the field for doing his job with more integrity than those in power would like him to, upright officer Vijay Singh (Bobby Deol) lands a ‘punishment posting’ as the dean of the Police Training Centre in Nashik. Convinced that the only way to restore order in a flawed system is to fix it from the inside, he handpicks a clutch of bold young officers and trains them to bend the law in service of the greater good.

Inspired from real accounts of the city’s first encounter specialists, the film depicts how the officers shrewdly planned and executed hits while staying within the system and following all necessary protocols. But then it quickly slips into a predictable rise-and-fall-and-rise narrative with egos and corruption breaking up the friends, and a last-ditch shot at redemption triggered by their mentor.

Cast

Bobby Deol as Additional Director General of Police Officer Vijay Singh, the husband of Sudha Singh
Bhupendra Jadawat as Pramod Shukla
Geetika Tyagi as Sudha Singh, the wife of Vijay Singh.
Anup Soni as CM Manohar Patkar
Joy Sengupta as DGP Raghav Desai
Vishwajeet Pradhan as Mangesh Dixit
Hans Dev Sharma as YP Mathur
Hitesh Bhojraj as Vishnu Varde
Sameer Paranjape as Aslam Khan
Ninad Mahajani as Laxman Jadhav
Prithvik Pratap as Janardan Surve
Spruha Joshi as Pramod Shukla's wife

Production

The filming began in the first week of May 2019.{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/class-of-83-film-netflix-shah-rukh-khan-5711236/|title=Shah Rukh Khan production venture for Netflix, Class of 83, goes on floor|date=5 May 2019|access-date=5 May 2019|archive-date=5 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505120311/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/class-of-83-film-netflix-shah-rukh-khan-5711236/|url-status=live}}

Release

Class of '83 was streamed on OTT Platform Netflix from 21 August 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/bobby-deol-on-class-of-83-perfect-way-to-change-audiences-perception/22941237|title=Bobby Deol on Class of '83: Perfect way to change audience's perception|date=19 August 2020|website=mid-day|access-date=19 August 2020|archive-date=20 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820020836/https://www.mid-day.com/articles/bobby-deol-on-class-of-83-perfect-way-to-change-audiences-perception/22941237|url-status=live}}

Reception

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|score=17|count=12|average=|consensus=|ref=yes |access-date=December 6, 2023}} Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 3 out of 5, writing, "Class of ‘83 works both as a well-realised if a trifle sketchy hark-back at an interesting epoch, as well as an entertainer. Though we’ve seen so many iterations of the gangsters vs honest law enforcers in the movies, there’s always room for another. Especially because we need stories of cops who believe in their motto of ‘protect the good and destroy the evil’, today more than ever."{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/class-of-83-review-netflix-bobby-deol-6563984/|title=Class of 83 movie review: An entertaining cop drama|date=21 August 2020|access-date=6 December 2023|archive-date=30 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630124207/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/class-of-83-review-netflix-bobby-deol-6563984/|url-status=live}}

Conversely, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 2.5 out of 5, writing, "Despite Bobby Deol's unfussy impersonation of a stolid, righteous policeman, the film is more tattle than tension, more acrimony than action."{{Cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/class-of-83-movie-review-bobby-deol-springs-a-surprise-but-netflix-film-is-a-mixed-bag-2-5-stars-out-of-5-2283043|title=Class Of '83 Movie Review: Bobby Deol Springs A Surprise But Netflix Film Is A Mixed Bag|website=NDTV.com|access-date=6 December 2023|archive-date=1 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201035125/https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/class-of-83-movie-review-bobby-deol-springs-a-surprise-but-netflix-film-is-a-mixed-bag-2-5-stars-out-of-5-2283043|url-status=live}}

Accolades

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Award ceremony

!Category

!Nominee / work

!Result

!Ref.

rowspan="2" |2021

| rowspan="2" |Filmfare OTT Awards

|Best Actor in a Web Original Film

|Bobby Deol

|{{nom}}

| rowspan="2" |{{Cite web |title=Filmfare OTT Awards 2021 - Nominations |url=https://www.filmfare.com/awards/filmfare-ott-awards-2021/nominations |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=filmfare.com |language=en}}

Best Supporting Actor in a Web Original Film

|Bhupendra Jadawat

|{{nom}}