83

Deepika Padukone, Kabir Khan, Vishnu Vardhan Induri, Sajid Nadiadwala, Reliance Entertainment, and 83 Film Ltd. produced 83, a 2021 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film directed by Kabir Khan and produced by Deepika Padukone, Kabir Khan, Vishnu Vardhan Induri, Sajid Nadiadwala, Reliance Entertainment, and 83 Film Ltd. [6][7] The film's storey and dialogues were co-written by Khan, Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, Vasan Bala, and Sumit Arora, and are based on the India national cricket team captained by Kapil Dev, which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. It stars Pankaj Tripathi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiiva, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna, Chirag Patil, Dinker Sharma, Nishant Dahiya, Harrdy Sandhu, Sahil Khattar, Ammy Virk, Adinath Kothare, Dhairya Karwa, and R Badree as Dev and Padukone as Romi Bhatia, Dev's wife. Pritam wrote the film's music, and Julius Packiam composed the background score. Aseem Mishra and Nitin Baid were in charge of cinematography and editing, respectively. Rob Miller of ReelSports was in charge of the cricket action and choreography.

Phantom Films, whose producer Madhu Mantena and Vishnu Vardhan Induri had formally met the Indian squad of 1983, including frontman Kapil Dev, in mid-July 2016 and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to make the official biopic, owned the rights to produce the film based on India's journey at the 1983 World Cup. In September 2017, Reliance Entertainment joined the film's producers and made an official announcement about the biography alongside members of the winning team, with Singh and Khan being cast as the lead actor and director, respectively. [9] The film began main photography on 5 June 2019, after an intensive casting and pre-production process, and was primarily shot in and around England for three months, with a brief schedule in India, before wrapping on 7 October. [10]

The film was originally intended for an April 2019 release, however it was pushed back multiple times due to casting and pre-production issues, as well as the COVID-19 outbreak in India, causing the film to be postponed entirely until 2020. [11] [12] The film had its international premiere on the 15th of December at the Red Sea International Film Festival, and was distributed by Reliance Entertainment and PVR Pictures in 5,000 theatres worldwide on the 24th of December 2021 (Christmas Eve). [2] Apart from the original form, the film was dubbed and released in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. [2] Critics and spectators praised the cast's performances, as well as the narrative, directing, and technical aspects of the film. [13] However, despite a budget of 270 crore (US$36 million), the film was a box office flop, collecting around 176.25 crore (US$23 million). [14]

Origin

Phantom Films, a joint production company controlled by Madhu Mantena, obtained the rights to make a film based on the 1983 Cricket World Cup and India's victory at the event in mid-July 2016,[8] with the involvement of directors Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, and Vikramaditya Motwane.

[34] Vishnu Vardhan Induri, the creator and managing director of Celebrity Cricket League, expressed interest in co-producing the film, citing his love of cricket as a motivator. [35] [36] It's being billed as the first project of his newly founded production company, Vibri Media. [35] At a suburban hotel in Mumbai, members of the 1983 team, as well as former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev, met with the producers to discuss the film. [8] During the process, the two production firms signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the 1983 squad to develop an official biography, in which the producers will be allowed to utilise the players' real names and true situations from their lives, according to the rules. "The journey of the 1983 team is a narrative of inspiration that illustrates that one can achieve anything if they aim for it and work for it no matter what the world thinks," Dev said in an official release about the movie. [35]

Development

Despite the official announcement, the cast and crew members, as well as the project's director, have yet to be finalised. According to reports, Kabir Khan will helm the film, and Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, or Sushant Singh Rajput would play Kapil Dev. [37][38] When asked about his role in the biopic, Khan said he was "fascinated by the storey of India's journey during the 1983 Cricket World Cup," but he refused to comment on reports that he directed the film. [39] The film was also rumoured to have Akshay Kumar in it, but he eventually declined. [40] On September 25, 2017, Phantom Films revealed that Singh would play Kapil Dev,[41] and Kabir Khan stated that the film would be directed by him. [42]

When I was a small child, I remember seeing India win the 1983 Cricket World Cup. I had no notion that cricket in India would alter forever after that day. As a filmmaker, the path to that victory, which was filled with the raw energy and unbridled passion of that young Indian team, is arguably one of the most thrilling tales I've ever worked on.

― Kabir Khan on the film's direction[43]

On September 27, 2017, Reliance Entertainment and Vibri Media held a launch event at the JW Marriott Mumbai to officially announce the biopic 83. [44] [45] The event featured Singh and the complete old team that won the Cricket World Cup in 1983. [46] Khan said at the event that pre-production and location scouting will begin by late November 2017, and that the film will be shot in real locations to ensure authenticity and to "give youngsters the opportunity to celebrate a milestone in the history of Indian cricket that occurred when many were not even born." [44]

This film was believed to be one of Phantom Films' final films, along with Super 30 (2019) and Ghoomketu (2020). After responding to a sexual assault complaint against Bahl by a former female employee, the company split in October 2018, and its partners went on to work on their own projects. Bahl was fired from the project [48]. [49] Sajid Nadiadwala joined the project as one of the co-producers in May 2019. [50] [51]

Casting

Kabir Khan wanted "a cast that authenticates the 1983 Indian squad," therefore casting and pre-production work took a long time. [52] Vicky Kaushal was rumoured to be in the film at first, but he turned down Khan's offer due to his commitments in Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019). [53] Allu Arjun and Vijay Deverakonda were also considered for the role of Krishnamachari Srikkanth, but both turned down the offer. [54] [55] Jiiva, a Tamil actor, was then cast in the role of Srikkanth, marking his Hindi debut. [56] His enrollment was confirmed in late January of this year. [57] Punjabi actor-singer Ammy Virk was cast in the role of Balwinder Sandhu on January 23. [58] The filmmakers also cast Tahir Raj Bhasin as Sunil Gavaskar and ex-cricketer and singer Harrdy Sandhu as Madan Lal, respectively. [59] [60] Sandeep Patil, the son of former cricketer Chirag Patil, who was a member of the 1983 Indian cricket squad, played his father's role in the film, making his acting debut. [61] [62]

The casting process lasted until the middle of February 2019,[63]. [21] The role of Mohinder Amarnath was played by Saqib Saleem, and Ravi Shastri was played by Dhairya Karwa. [65] [66] Pankaj Tripathi has been cast as PR Man Singh, a former cricketer who managed India's World Cup team in 1983. [67] Roger Binny was supposed to be played by Vijay Varma, but Nishant Dahiya was cast instead. [68] Amiya Dev, Kapil Dev's daughter, joined Kabir Khan as an assistant director. [69] Sunil Valson is played by R. Badree, who previously appeared in Khan's web series The Forgotten Army. [70] Adinath Kothare was cast in the role of Dilip Vengsarkar in mid-April 2019, and Jatin Sarna was cast in the role of Yashpal Sharma. [72] Malcolm Marshall, his father and a West Indies fast bowler, was cast as Mali Marshall. [73] Pritam was revealed as the music director in May 2019, and Deepika Padukone joined the cast as Romi Bhatia, Kapil Dev's wife, in June, while also co-producing the film. [15] Although Katrina Kaif was said to be in talks for the role, Khan stated that she was never in talks for the project. [76] Deepika Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiiva, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna, Chirag Patil, Dinker Sharma, Nishant Dahiya, Harrdy Sandhu, Sahil Khattar, Ammy Virk, Adinath Kothare, Dhairya Karwa, and R Badree also star in the film. [77]