We last saw Ranveer practising his rapping skills, but don’t be surprised if you spot him dashing down a corridor in between, trying to get his bowling action right! The actor, who has started prepping for his next, Gully Boy, about the lives of street rappers from Mumbai’s chawls and ghettos, is also tremendously excited about what follows - Kabir Khan’s directorial titled '83, in which he essays the role of India’s cricket captain, Kapil Dev.
It was love at first hearing for the actor, when Kabir approached him with the script. “I was like, ‘Chalo, it’s great that finally, someone wants – and is planning to – make a mainstream Hindi film on the 1983 World Cup victory. I think since I was born in 1985, I always thought that someone must tell the story of our [World Cup] winning story in a sports film.”
RECOMMENDED READ: RANVEER SINGH’S KAPIL DEV BIOPIC ’83 TO RELEASE ON THIS DATE!
Ranveer finds the premise hugely inspiring. “It is one of the greatest sports stories ever about how a bunch of underdogs – who nobody thought anything of – were banded together, got galvanised by their leader and they went on to win the World Cup. It infused the nation with a lot of pride and was clearly a turning point in our sports history. I wasn’t aware that the 1983 victory turned the tide because I thought, cricket has always been a huge sport in our country,” Ranveer revealed.
A large part of his enthusiasm, of course, has to do with him playing the legendary Kapil Dev. “Bas woh bowling action aa jaaye,” he says with a sigh of longing, as he hopes to replicate Kapil’s famous style on the field. He is hoping the ex-captain himself gives him some training and tips. “It will be absolutely fantastic,” he enthuses. “It goes without saying that the physical transformation is going to be an important part.”
At the launch of ’83, Ranveer had shared how he was “quite nervous” when he was asked to do this role and actually questioned himself about how he would pull it off. Director Kabir however believes he is the ideal choice to portray Dev’s bravery. We so agree!
