Ajit Rai

Actor Ranbir Singh took five months of rigorous training at the Lord's Stadium in London, suspending all his other assignments, to play Kapil Dev, the captain of the Indian team that won the Cricket World Cup for the first time in 1983. Kabir Khan, director of the film '83' that captures the moments of the historic World Cup, said this in a special conversation during the Al Guna Film Festival in Egypt.

The film is being released worldwide on December 24. Significantly, Kabir Khan was a member of the jury of the main competition section of the 5th Al Goona Film Festival (Egypt). Ajit Rai had a special conversation with filmmaker Kabir Khan for Awaz-The Voice in Cairo

Poster of 83

How is the treatment of this film different from your previous films?

This film is different from my previous blockbusters like 83, Ek Tha Tiger, Bajrangi Bhaijaan. This film will usher in a new era in Bollywood mainstream cinema. We could not use the video recordings of the 1983 Cricket World Cup matches because they were first-generation videos. So, we had to recreate everything anew.

How were the actors selected for the role of which player for this film?

The selection of the actor for the role of Sunil Gavaskar was the most difficult. After many months of trying, Tahir Hussain Bhasin was chosen for this role. He impressed us with his excellent performance in Nandita Das's film Manto. It took a year for the rest of the members of the Indian cricket team to be cast. This work was completed after auditioning 2,000 artists.

Kabir Khan speaking about the movie 83

How were the cricket matches shot?

After six months of tireless efforts at Lord's Stadium in London, we got permission to shoot. Many parts of Lord's will appear in a film for the first time. For example, the long room, from where the players leave and come to the stadium. The number one sport in England today is football, not cricket. Lord's people must have felt that on the pretext of this film, once again Lord's Stadium and cricket will be discussed all over the world. That's why its authorities cooperated in the shooting of the film.

How did the idea of ​​making a film on this subject come to you?

Sometimes the story of the film reaches you. It was first written by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, then it reached Vasan Bala of South India. For some reason, Yash Raj Films refused to make it, then it went to Phantom and from there came to me and Reliance invested the money.

So, you are interested in cricket like every other Indian?

Cricket has never been my subject. When this film came to me, I did research on this subject for two years. I had made many documentaries. But it was a big challenge to relive every important moment of the 1983 Cricket World Cup in the film. From the style of the players' clothes, shoes, ball, bat, speaking, and walking, it was risky to get into their thinking. We told our colleagues that we should not take any leeway with the facts. Everything should be as it was in 1983.

Making actors cricketers must have been difficult. Here, the rural cricketers with rent were not wanted.

After casting, we did an intensive two-week workshop with the entire team and then coach Balwinder Singh Sandhu in Dharamsala to inculcate a team spirit in the cast. We used to sit in a bus at five o'clock in the morning and go to the stadium for practice and be together throughout the day, returning together. We went to London for the shoot with all our preparations.

Kabir Khan with Ajit Rai

Can such films set a new trend? Because the era is of biopics only.

This film will prove to be a milestone in Bollywood mainstream cinema and may start a new era that will bring fame to Hindi cinema all over the world. One of the problems with cricket in India is that anyone will stand up and tell how Kapil Dev or Sunil Gavaskar should play, even if he has never touched a bat in his life. In the shooting and editing of '83', we have to take care of every little thing. However, one of the good things that have happened in Bollywood is that the interest of filmmakers in history has increased. Earlier no one used to touch such stories. My next film is related to history.

How was your experience in Cairo?

For the first time in 1995, I had come to Cairo, the capital of Egypt, with journalist Saeed Naqvi to interview President Hosni Mubarak. The second time came in 2009 when my film 'New York' was made the opening film of the Cairo International Film Festival. I was surprised that the pirated copy of my film 'New York' had spread all over the Arab world.

What is the measure of success in the eyes of Kabir Khan?

Only money or success at the box office is not the measure of good films. You cannot watch many such successful films even for half an hour. We should make such good films which if not more than at least take out their cost. The producer needs some profit, only then he will invest money in the next film.