Legendary Cricketer Kapil Dev during the launch of an English language teaching and learning solution in a hotel in Industrial Area phase 1 Chandigarh on Thursday. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)With the release of the trailer of ‘83’, a sports drama directed by Kabir Khan and based on the Indian cricket team’s triumph in the 1983 cricket World Cup, the spotlight is yet again on the winning team and its captain, Kapil Dev. Dev, whose role is being played by Ranveer Singh in the movie, expressed his excitement for the film’s release.
“Everybody including me is excited about the movie. The trailer makes you emotional about the World Cup win. Regarding my character speaking English in the movie, I still don’t know the language well enough but I know the language to communicate and that’s what is important for me,” Kapil Dev said during a media interaction in Chandigarh during the launch of an international English learning platform and application.
Kapil Dev speaks during the press conference. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)
The cast includes Deepika Padukone as Romi Dev, Tahri Raj Bhasin as Sunil Gavaskar, Tamil movie star Jiva as K Srikkanth, Saqib Saleem as Mohinder Amarnath, Chirag Patil as Sandeep Patil, Harrdy Sandhu as Madan Lal amongst others. Cricket fans and cinema lovers have been praising the efforts of Ranveer Singh. “When the movie releases later this month, we will come to know how well Ranveer Singh has portrayed me. We have seen the trailer and he has done a good job. They spent time with me to learn how to portray me,” said Dev.
While the three-minute trailer showcases the dressing room tension and public humiliation that the India team faced during the early stages of the world cup, it also shows India’s famous win over Zimbabwe in the league match at Tunbridge Wells. India were placed 17 for 5 at one time in their innings before Kapil Dev came to bat and played a knock of 175 runs to steer India to a total of 266 for 8 before India won the match by 31 runs. Incidentally, the memorable knock was not shown live due to no coverage. While team members of the 1982 World Cup are expected to be part of the movie release, Yashpal Sharma, the second-highest run scorer for the team, will be missed. Sharma died earlier this year. “Yashpal Sharma is not there anymore but he will be within our hearts and minds always. His spirit will always be with us,” said Dev.
Dev also advised sportpersons to realise the importance of communication in today’s times. “Communication is the need of the hour and it’s very important as a sportsperson to communicate. Playing is one thing and I understand that but it is important to be able to communicate with different people,” he added.
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