Kapil Dev reveals Ranveer Singh stayed 10 days with him to practice for role

It is the season of biopics on cricketing superstars in Bollywood, after the enormous success of the Sushant Singh Rajpoot starred MSD: The Untold Story. After Emraan Hashmi’s portrayal of the controversial ex Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin on the big screen, it is now time for superstar Ranveer Singh to play another former Indian skipper, Kapil Dev on screen.

Dev, the retired all-rounder who won India’s first-ever World Cup back in 1983, turned 61 on the 6th of this month. Singh is playing Dev in the upcoming movie titled ’83’, which will showcase India’s journey in the World Cup of 1983. The film will focus on how Kapil Dev & Co. fought against the odds to come from being regarded as the underdogs, to eventually lifting the trophy by beating big guns like England and the then mighty West Indies.

Recently, Kapil Dev has revealed that in order to emulate him on the big screen, actor Ranveer Singh spent 10 days with him. In those days, Singh observed Dev’s behavior and mannerisms, in order to get the most transparent picture of the former all-rounder on the silver screen.

Not only that, but Dev has also revealed that to master his role as the erstwhile skipper of the Indian cricket team, Singh would bat and bowl for eight hours daily. “I’d see him (Ranveer Singh) work so hard on bowling, he’d bowl and play for eight hours constantly to understand the rhythm, and would do so in the peak of summer,” said Dev.

Singh braved the scorching heat to get his cricketing action on sync with the first-ever World Cup-winning skipper the nation has produced. “In such conditions, even cricketers avoid training to prevent injuries. So, I feared for his fitness,” Kapil Dev further added.

Who else is playing whom?

While the story will revolve around Kapil Dev, a bunch of talented actors have been drafted to play the other important cricketers from Dev’s World Cup-winning squad. Saqib Saleem is playing the man who won the man of the match award in both the semi-final and the final – Mohinder Amarnath. Addinath M Kothare will be portraying Dilip Vengsarkar, whereas Chirag Patil will portray his father Sandeep Patil on the big screen.