Kabir Khan was just in his teens when India scripted history by clinching the World Cup in 1983. While he has vague memories of that final, the decorated filmmaker remembers that evening of June 25 when hundreds of people took to the streets in Hyderabad to celebrate the historic occasion.
Years later, when Khan decided to bring ‘83’ to the silver screen, he knew that his story would be about celebrating the victory of the underdogs and how a bunch of young cricketers battled the odds and conquered the world.
It, obviously, was a challenging task. But the seasoned director ensured that he had long sessions with the batch of 1983 before finalising the finer details of the storyline and eventually creating magic on screen.
On the 40th anniversary of the 1983 title win, Khan talks to Sportstar about the real-to-reel journey…
What’s the first memory that comes to your mind when we talk about the 1983 World Cup?
I was in school, and I was spending my summer holidays in Hyderabad. I don’t have a distinct memory of the 1983 World Cup final, but I do remember that there was this match going on and everybody was watching it. Our ancestral home used to be a big haveli, and lots of people, who were part of our extended family, were watching the game. I remember once the match got over, I thought, ‘why did these people act crazy?’ People were crying and dancing on the streets, there were fireworks, so for me, that was one memory from my childhood.
So, when I was making the film ‘83’, I knew that I must capture that euphoria that I saw during my childhood on screen. So, in the climax of the film, there’s music after India wins the match. It was my ode to what I saw happening around me when I was a child.
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Years later, what prompted you to choose India’s 1983 World Cup campaign as a subject for your film? How challenging was the journey?
What drew me to the story was what drew me to any other story. I thought it was an incredible human story where, after some point in time, cricket is incidental because what matters is how this bunch of boys—I call them a bunch of boys because they were really young and Kapil was just 24 around that time—sort of pull each other and go on making history. I have said in the past that you could replace cricket with kabaddi, but what stands out is the human story. Of course, in our country, given that it’s cricket, that too, at that level, was a bonus. The love that the film received was obviously for the cricket backdrop. But as a storyteller, what drew me to it was the fact that it was a classic underdog story that makes your heart swell.
After the film was released, people even messaged me from China and Pakistan, saying, “It’s not even about our country, but then, why are we crying at the end of the film?”
It’s that classic universal story of the triumph of the underdog, and it doesn’t matter which country you belong to. It’s literally a story of how these people achieved something so big, and that makes your heart cry.
When you finalised the cast and the real heroes finally met the reel heroes, how was that moment? If you could share some anecdotes…
Casting was a mammoth task because we were dealing with living legends. People who follow cricket know exactly how Madan Lal bowls or how Yashpal Sharma batted. People know their style—the way they speak, the way they walk, everything. So, when I was casting, I even told Ranveer (Singh) that he should remember that it’s not a lookalike contest. I told him, “You are not going to get brownie points for looking the same. You have to get the persona of these characters.” That really worked.
Many of us have made biopics, and I am sure I will make more biopics going forward, but nobody, including me, has had this experience before like the one I had with these legends of 1983. The amount of warmth and open-heartedness that I saw among them was incredible. The way they took each actor under their wing and trained them was outstanding. As a director, I could not have asked for anything better. So, a Kapil Dev would tell Ranveer Singh that ‘this is the way I used to bowl’, or a Madan Lal would teach Hardy Sandhu how to pick up his action. I was living a dream, and that bond still continues. I chat with Kapil Sir almost every month, and on June 25th, we are sitting down together for dinner, and the actors will also be there.
The film created a new family, where not just the legends but the second generation who portrayed them on screen have also become part of the family. It’s all because of the generosity and spirit of those legends.
How challenging was it to make the film relevant to the new-age audience, who may not relate to 1983?
That was always a challenge for us. But to tell you the truth, at some point in time, I stopped thinking about it. I, as a storyteller, have to come up with a story that’s truly engaging and inspirational. If the story starts connecting with you emotionally, it does not matter if you have seen the original or not. People who saw those moments in real life got emotional and could relate to each and every situation. But surprisingly, post-release, I was taken aback by the way youngsters, from the age group of seven to 15, reacted to the film. Even today, I come across many kids or their parents saying that their child has seen it about 50 times and that the film runs on a loop at lunchtime because the kid refuses to eat without watching it. That has been a pleasant surprise for me, and it goes to show that you don’t need to know the context as long as the film, in its emotion, reaches out to you and connects to you.
I even had kids come up to me, saying, ‘Kapil Dev was so good; why doesn’t he play in the IPL?’ They want to know more and more about these people. Kapil sir recently sent me a clip of a kid from London and said that the eight-year-old had seen the film 100 times! It’s amazing that it happened.
While writing the script and the screenplay, how difficult was it to get the details, like the dialogues or finer nuances of their personalities right?
I researched for this film for more than two years because I realised that, unfortunately, as a country, we don’t archive things too well. Even when I met a few journalists who covered the tournament, they did not have copies of their own articles. Finally, when the Lord’s archive opened its doors, we could find a lot of documents, and that was a goldmine for me. I would spend a week every month getting those materials, and I would sit down with the members of the 1983 team and discuss them at length. I remember making Kapil sir read the script two to three times. There would be times when he would not remember a certain incident, but after writing the script and making him listen to it, he would immediately remember those moments and say, “Arrey haan, yaahan main yeh bola tha…” Some of the conversations have been kept verbatim. That’s something I’m proud of. At least 40 per cent of the scenes are word-by-word adaptations.
They all wore different trousers and shirts, so there’s a unique thing that happened. Every time Roger Binny bowled, his sleeve would open up, and then he would fold it up again and then bowl. It’s easier said than done on screen, so we tested eight types of fabrics and finally selected one, washed it ten times, and then stitched a shirt for him to get that feel. That’s the level of detail that we put in.
What prompted you to cast Mohinder Amarnath as Lala Amarnath?
Honestly, he was just too good! Lala Amarnath is such a legend, and I interviewed at least 50 to 60 elderly men, but none could match that voice or that charisma. Then we decided to ask Jimmy sir, and he was happy to do it and eventually did a great job. You get a nice sense of warmth when you see Jimmy Amarnath playing his dad. That was the reason for casting him.
Initially, the plan was to celebrate the 40th anniversary at the Lord’s with the screening of ‘83’. But why was that cancelled? Now, how do you plan to celebrate the special occasion?
It would have been lovely, but it’s looking unlikely at the moment since Lord’s is not available due to the ongoing Ashes and it being a cricket season. The management at Lord’s was keen to do it, but it’s looking difficult now. They are also working on new dates in July. Let’s see how that pans out.
For now, the celebrations are subdued, and there will be a private gathering. All the members will travel down to Mumbai, and on the 25th, the reel and the real family will sit together and celebrate the moment when they made every Indian proud, forty years ago!
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