Kapil Dev says he couldn’t stop crying after watching 83 the second time: ‘I walked out of theatre the third time’

After a long wait, Ranveer Singh starrer 83 is now streaming on Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar. The film, based on India’s horic World Cup win in 1983, released last year in cinemas. However, given the rising Omicron cases in the country at the time, many skipped watching the Kabir Khan directorial. As the film makes its presence on the streaming platforms, Netflix shared a heart-warming video of the then Indian captain Kapil Dev sharing some untold stories. Speaking to host-actor Gaurav Kapoor, the ace cricketer shared that while 83 did not impact him much the first time he watched it, he couldn’t stop crying the second time, and had to leave mid-way the third time the film played on-screen.
“The first time I saw it, I was like okay this is a film. It did not really impact me. The second time became very emotional. I couldn’t believe our lives have been transpired so beautifully on screen. All these years I though Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was the ultimate sports film but I was so touched with 83. I actually walked out of the theatre the third time, I was supposed to watch it,” he shared in Hindi.

As readers would already know, Kapil Dev had refused to watch the film’s early cut and decided to see it with his team at the premiere. He shared that the moment became very emotional for everyone as they saw their journey being played out. He also revealed that post the screening, they all partied together and it felt like they were celebrating their World Cup win once again. “Back then we were worried who will pay for us. At least now we knew someone would,” he added with a laugh.
Lauding praises on Ranveer Singh, Kabir Khan and the entire team, Kapil Dev shared how they were amazed to see minute details being taken care of. He revealed that while actors are playing them, you will only have to squint to imagine the cricketers were on-screen themselves. “My daughter said that the moment Ranveer steps out of the bus, she too was taken aback the similarities. There are a few scenes which even gave me goosebumps because it immediately took me back to those days,” he shared. The cricketer added that the film projects 98 percent facts and while a few characters and scenes were changed, the story was held intact.

Kapil Dev mentioned how seeing 83 and also getting a sneak-peek into the hard work that goes into making a film has made him respect the film industry more. He also shared that seeing all the actors train hard for their parts scared him as he felt they might get injuries. The former Indian captain said, “I understand the passion but they are actors and they were working so hard that I was worried. I was with Ranveer in Delhi where he would be on the field for six-eight hours in the summers. I told him he was overdoing it and may injure himself. However, he was just too passionate about the film.

Gaurav Kapoor quizzed Kapil further on how he wanted the film to be about his team and not just him. To this, he shared that he had refused the film because he didn’t want it to be about his life. “When Kabir told me it’s about 83, I told him that it should focus on the tournament start to end. Also, when I got to know Ranveer is playing me, I was sceptical about whether they will focus more on him. But just like in real life, the film too was about the team. I was so happy to see everyone shining.”
While Kapil revealed that a lot of the stories could not make it to the film given the time constraint, the bond was well projected. Gaurav mentioned how cricketers were invited for lunch and dinners Indian families in foreign countries, as shown in 83. Smiling about it, Kapil sheepishly confessed that while many didn’t like going out given they had less money then, getting good home-cooked food was always a treat. “Sharm aati thi but paise nahi the (we would be embarrassed but didn’t have enough money). Today, they count calories back then we counted the notes. It was all a wonderful time,” he shared.
Towards the end, Kapil Dev mentioned how the entire 83 team continues to be a family, and even have a WhatsApp group. And while they have strict rules against ‘good morning messages’, the former captain shared that players do share their cooking and traveling photos, like they would in other family groups.