‘Shane’ documentary review: An intimate portrayal of the man they call ‘Hollywood’

In the new documentary film Shane, there are instances where people known to Shane Warne try to downplay his image or his remarkable talents as a cricketer. Friend and British pop superstar Ed Sheeran calls him, “an everyday bloke who happens to be good at bowling”. Warne’s daughter Brooke affectionately terms him a “dorkey, blokey dad”. And the man himself downplays his “ball of the century” by calling it “a fluke, because I never bowled it again!” (more on that later).

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Let’s not kid ourselves. Shane Warne remains anything but a humble bloke. The Australian spin-bowling legend has always been larger than life, on and off the field. He has long been credited with making spin bowling, especially leg-spin bowling, fashionable again from the 1990s following a golden era of fast bowling in the previous decade.

15 years after his international retirement, little has changed. You can still hear the ball “whirr” as he tosses it up for the camera and mesmerises you with his variations and subtle tricks. As a commentator and expert analyst, his forceful views prove to be either pinpoint-accurate or downright flippant, lacking in any basis.

That’s Warne for you. Over the course of 90 minutes of film, Warne describes his no-holds-barred brand of aggression and intimidation which he acknowledges may be joyous for some, unpalatable for many. Team-mates and commentators say that Warne was a gamechanger in the way he brought a fast bowler’s brand of aggression into spin bowling. “He had the ability to make the batsman always second guess himself,” says former England captain Andrew Strauss, also Warne’s 700th Test victim. “You were playing the man, and not the ball,” summed up commentator Mark Nicholas.

One of the interesting anecdotes from his childhood was how a freak leg injury forced him to use his hands more, which helped develop strong wrists to spin the ball. Like many suburban Australian kids, “footy” (Australian Rules Football) was his first love. But his AFL dreams went up in smoke when he was dropped by St. Kilda Football Club. He admitted he “wasn’t good enough” for the big league and he certainly didn’t fancy delivering beds and pizzas for too long. Footy’s loss was cricket’s gain.

The fear of rejection was to shape Warne’s future. After a horrible Test match debut against India, Warne was dropped. Fearing history was repeating itself, he sought help from former Australian spinner Terry Jenner. Warne showed up at Jenner’s estate, music blaring from the stereo, and the latter took one look at the chubby youngster from Melbourne with shoulder-length blonde hair, and said bluntly he had to get fit quickly.

Only a year later, the world took notice of Warne when he bowled that “ball of the century” that bamboozled Mike Gatting at Old Trafford in 1993. The film thankfully gives generous airtime to this delivery, described from all angles by players and commentators who witnessed that historic moment. Gatting, in the film, almost feels proud that the flamboyant leg-spinner went on to make history, while inadvertently playing his part in it.

For an authorised biography of a celebrity sportsman, the film mentions his various indiscretions and controversies, though it’s a mixed bag. Warne describes in detail his bizarre meeting with Saleem Malik in his hotel room where the Pakistan captain offered him $200,000 to bowl poorly and throw away the 1994 Karachi Test, which he rejected. However, the episode of Warne and Mark Waugh accepting money from an Indian bookie to provide information — and the Australian cricket board’s messy cover-up— is merely glossed over.

The most poignant moments in the film are the reflections on his personality and character. His ex-wife Simone Callahan opens up about the pain she and her kids went through when British tabloids laid bare his infidelity just before the 2005 Ashes tour began. She returned to Australia with the kids, and the eldest Brooke chokes when she recollects that period. A melancholic and unusually reclusive Warne felt the rug being pulled under his feet, admitting to raiding the mini-bar in his hotel every night. Crude chants from the Barmy Army England supporters didn’t wreck his game though; he still took 40 wickets that series.

The other noteworthy episode is a dining room conversation with his parents and brother recalling the 2003 doping controversy just before the World Cup. Warne’s mum innocently gave him a pill to lose weight, to look “slim as a chick”, which he took unknowingly. It turned out to be a banned diuretic that led to a year-long ban. With the past long behind them, Warne clarifies that he never blamed his mum for it. It was the same kind of stupidity that landed him in the match-fixing scandal in the first place.

Warne humbly acknowledges he overstepped the line several times, and “paid the price for it and rightfully so”, dating back to his teens when he was sent home from the academy in Darwin for “mooning” (indecent exposure). Warne’s nickname “Hollywood” seemed to stick through his life. Though nowhere in the film does he explain why he happens to be a repeat offender.

The film has some other significant omissions too. The rivalry with Sachin Tendulkar and the nightmares the batsman caused him in the late 90s barely gets a mention. Tendulkar’s presence in the film however brings out a fun incident, when Warne had his mouth on fire after one bite of spicy chicken at Tendulkar’s Mumbai home!

The film also highlights Warne’s celebrated Test achievements and comebacks from surgeries and bans, but makes only sporadic mentions of his one-day career. Warne’s repeated transgressions cost him a full-time Australian captaincy, but we never get to hear his views or regrets on missing out on the top job.

Meanwhile, Warne’s cricketing acumen and leadership saw merit when he led the unfancied Rajasthan Royals to the IPL title in 2008. That season is truly worth a film on its own.

Shane is currently streaming in India on BookMyShow Stream