Less than 48 hours remain for the blockbuster premiere of ‘83’ as the final piece of promotion got underway in Mumbai. The movie is dedicated to the Indian team that won the cricket World Cup in 1983, beating then powerhouse West Indies in the final. Kapil Dev, captain of the side, was seen getting emotional as he paid tribute to his teammates in an exclusive special program with India Today.
"Character is the most important thing. If we pick up all fourteen and Yash, I think everybody has a character. When you want to achieve something as big as that, everybody needs to have a character," Kapil said in the special show.
"We all play cricket. If I look back, I think everybody has a character in the sense that they are not pushovers. You give them a lot of respect for not being a yes man, but they are ready to die and at the end of the day, they were all brilliant characters. You can make a movie about everybody. I was the captain but I think I was not even half good or even quarter without the support of seniors and Man and Polly," the 62-year-old added.
Kapil broke down in tears when he was speaking about his teammates and praised the character of every member of the squad. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Syed Kirmani, Roger Binny, Dilip Vengsarkar and many other members of the 1983 team attended the program. Ranveer Singh, playing Kapil’s role was also seen emotional as he praised Balwinder Sandhu’s role in the making of the film.
The movie contains a string of stars playing the roles of players associated with the squad. Sahil Khattar is seen playing Kirmani, while Chirag Patil will play the role of his real-life father and member of the 1983 squad, Sandeep Patil. The film was shot in London, the original location of India’s win in 1983. India won the World Cup at the iconic Lord’s on June 25 as Kapil’s army defeated Clive Lloyd’s West Indies.
