Ranveer Singh is definitely on a high, riding the success of Gully Boy which is breaking records and garnering appreciation the world over. However, the maverick actor is now set to fill the rather big shoes of Kapil Dev, the hero of India’s first world cup winning cricket team and its captain in a film titled ’83. The sports film is being directed by Kabir Khan.
Ranveer has already started prepping for the role of the cricket legend and we had also heard rumours that wife and superstar Deepika Padukone had been signed on to essay the role of Kapil Dev’s wife in a cameo but sadly, those just remained that: rumours.
However, apart from Ranveer, two other actors have been signed on for the film. Saqib Saleem and Hardy Sandhu will essay the role of Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal respectively in the film. Cricket enthusiasts and lovers will know that Mohinder Amarnath was an allrounder who was the Man of the Match in both the semi-finals and the finals of the 1983 World Cup. On the other hand, Madan Lal was responsible for taking the crucial wicket of Sir Vivian Richards- one of the most feared batsmen of all times.
Image Credit: amarujala.com
The interesting bit about this casting, apart from this being Hard Sandhu’s big Bollywood debut, is that both the actors have played professional cricket in their earlier life. Saqib has been a state-level cricketer playing for the team of Delhi while Hardy Sandhu was a part of Punjab’s under-19 team. In fact, the only reason he is still not pursing the sports professionally was because of an untimely elbow injury that ended his cricketing career.
Apart from these actors, the much in-demand Pankaj Tripathi has been signed on to play the role of Man Singh, the manager for the team touring London for the World Cup in 1983 who is said to be the unsung hero of that world cup victory. In fact, director Kabir Khan himself shared a photo of Tripathi stating how excited he was to work with the actor.
The shoot for ’83 is supposed to begin in May this year and if things go according to schedule, we will see Ranveer in the garb of Kapil Dev on the big screens by April 2020. ’83 will be shot primarily in London and Scotland.
