Bollywood star Ranveer Singh's latest film "83" has grossed Rs 24.43 at the box office on the first day of its release.
Directed by filmmaker Kabir Khan, the sports drama chronicles India's win under Kapil Dev's captainship, when the team defeated West Indies in the final to clinch their first-ever World Cup trophy in 1983.
Presented by Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Films, "83" arrived in cinema halls after multiple delays owning to coronavirus pandemic, on December 24 worldwide in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. It received positive reviews from critics.
According to Reliance Entertainment, the film has grossed Rs 12.64 crore across all languages and Rs 11.79 crore in the overseas market.
Ranveer Practiced For 6 Months To Perfect Kapil Dev's Famous Catch
The versatile actor, who stepped into the shoes of the legendary Indian captain and one of the greatest all-rounders, Kapil Dev, has revealed that it took him around six months to achieve perfection in imitating the famous backward-running catch, which was taken by the legendary cricketer to dismiss Sir Viv Richards off a Madan Lal delivery on June 25, 1983.
"It took me six months to get it perfectly done. The catch was tough running backward. So, Sandhu sir used to throw the ball and I had to run and take it," he said. Asked if it was a leather ball or not? Ranveer replied, "Yeah, it was a leather ball only."
He added, "I practised it several times and Sandhu sir then used to give me six overs to bat as a consolation prize, which I loved the most. I was given a target and I have to chase it down. It was fun," he added.
Ranveer is not imitating Kapil, he is inhabiting [the character]." This message has been reverberating across social media, with netizens going gaga over his performance in '83'.
"I am overwhelmed with the kind of messages I am getting right now. Everybody is liking the movie - Sunil Gavaskar sir, Madan Lal sir, Kapil sir, my guru Balwinder Singh Sandhu sir, PR Man Singh sir all have messaged and praised my work. What else do you want when such great personalities appreciate your work."
"I spent some time with Kapil sir in his house and he has such an impressive aura that people will fall in love with him. His smile, his laugh, his walk, his talk, his dance ... yeah, he has such cute dance moves. I used to see what he was doing and what's going on in his mind. What he might be thinking at that time in 1983. Watching him so closely helped a lot," Ranveer said.
Asked what was the toughest part to learn, Kapil's bowling style, his attitude or batting? The actor replied: "I used to play cricket in my school days and I was a very aggressive and impressive batter, also a good fielder. So batting wasn't an issue. About acting, we are professionals, so that's our job to get into the character.
"Yes, bowling was the toughest thing to learn. It took me several months … his wrist position, his iconic jump, rubbing the ball on the chest before delivering it, I remember Sandhu sir used to say, 'Tickle the nipple, tickle the nipple'," laughed Ranveer.
"Actually, my biomechanics differ from Kapil sir's. I was coming from 'Simmba' (the movie) and had bulky muscles. So Sandhu sir told me to get into an athletic physique," he added.
Besides Singh, actors Deepika Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiiva, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna, Chirag Patil, Dinker Sharma, Nishant Dahiya, Harrdy Sandhu, Sahil Khattar, Ammy Virk, Addinath Kothare, Dhairya Karwa and R Badree round out the cast of the film.
(With Inputs From IANS)