It's been nearly four decades but the memories of India's maiden world cup triumph linger on. Guys, the day has finally arrived. Kabir Khan's 83 hit the theatres today. Fans have been eagerly waiting for the movie that revolves around India's historic win at the 1983 World Cup. Sports and film enthusiasts are excited to see Ranveer Singh playing the role of legendary cricketer Kapil Dev. And, the actor made it a point to make the wait a memorable one. But, how? Ranveer has uploaded a series of videos featuring noted personalities from sports and film fraternities, including his father-in-law and former badminton champion Prakash Padukone. Here, the stars have shared their favourite moment from the World Cup.
Have to start with Prakash Padukone. Well, this isn't the first video posted by Ranveer Singh but you know the reason behind this pick, right? We aren't explaining it then. Calling it a "turning point for Indian cricket", Prakash Padukone said, “India had beaten the mighty West Indies in those days. That was a turning point for Indian cricket. From what was a sport, became a religion.”
Ranveer captioned the post as, “The living legend of badminton, a World Champion himself and my dear father-in-law Prakash Padukone, cherishes the memories of the 1983 World Cup triumph.”
Veteran actor Kamal Haasan said, “1983 was a year when so many exciting things were happening. There it was, Sunday, everybody was excited and I saw it at a friend's house. Nobody expected India to do what it did…” He further expressed that the historic win is something Indians are always proud of. Wait, there is more. Kamal Haasan's production house Raaj Kamal Film International has taken the responsibility to take the film to the Tamil audience.
According to Ranveer Singh, he is the "talismanic leader of our squad". Yes, we are talking about Kabir Khan here. And, as the director said, "When all the odds were against them, they didn't give up. They stood their ground and fought back. And, the rest, as they say, is history."
Next, we have Rajkumar Hirani. He was in Nagpur, his hometown, in 1983 when India picked up the World Cup for the first time ever. The director added that while he was extremely delighted that India could reach the finals, it was “unbelievable” that the team won the World Cup. Rajkumar Hirani recalled that he went out on the streets to celebrate the victory at midnight. Celebrations were happening in "every part of their country", he asserted, calling Kapil Dev a “hero”.
Speaking about the day, director Imtiaz Ali said, “Those days they used to listen to the commentary of radio. I was sleeping, and then suddenly, in the middle of the night, there was a crazy sound of screaming with which I got up. And, that's the first time I saw the visual of fervour and victory. 83 has become a symbol of hope against hope and victory against all hardships for us. That's because we had won the match.”
Tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi also got nostalgic and shared his childhood memory. He was only 9 years old then and remembers the day vividly. He said, “I think my dad was with his brothers. We were watching the final and the only thing I remember was them saying that the total was not going to be enough. But as I've learned obviously through my career, in sports anything is possible. And you know, India scripted that amazing win.”
Now, it's time to listen to the "Haryana Hurricane" Kapil Dev. "It was a dream to play for India. It was a bigger dream to become the captain of the national team. And. I had never imagined lifting the World Cup on the balcony at the Lord's".
Apart from Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, the film also stars Saqib Saleem, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Ammy Virk, Chirag Patil, Harrdy Sandhu, Jiiva, Sahil Khattar, Jatin Sarna, Pankaj Tripathi and Boman Irani, among others.