'He stood exactly like I did' - Sunil Gavaskar on Tahir Bhasin eloquently portraying the batter in '83 movie

The movie 83 depicting the story of India winning the 1983 World Cup will be released on December 24. Ranveer Singh is playing the character of Kapil Dev, who was India’s captain during the tournament. Several other Bollywood stars are playing the role of other players in the squad.

Tahir Bhasin, who is known for playing roles in movies like Mardaani and Chhichhore, is also a part of 83. He is portraying the role of legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar didn’t have a good tournament as he didn’t score many runs, but overall he was an asset for the team in the field.

During an interaction with India Today for the show Stars of 83, Gavaskar mentioned in detail regarding Bhasin and other aspects of the movie. The show aired at 6 PM on December 22 and had interviews of Gavaskar, Kapil, Sandeep Patil, and the cast of the film.

“He was standing next to me. I suddenly saw somebody very familiar standing next to me. He was standing exactly like I did. And then I realized he is playing me,” Gavaskar said regarding Bhasin’s portrayal of him.

Sunil Gavaskar applauds Tahir Bhasin’s performance

Gavaskar is really impressed with Bhasin’s performance in the movie. He only saw one day’s shooting and had little interaction with Bhasin.

“He has done a fantastic job. From the little I have seen, I saw one day’s shooting. And after the shot was taken, I was around there, we were just having a chat,” Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar also said he wanted to see Bhasin play attacking shots in the movie. He also added that he used to play attacking shots as well.

“He got the mannerisms right, not just the walk. I am just looking forward to seeing how he plays an attacking shot. By the way, I don’t play only defensive shots. I play attacking shots also,” Gavaskar said.

Bhasin mentioned that he watched Gavaskar’s videos on YouTube for six months before joining the filming process.

“I have watched all his videos, available on YouTube. I watched it in slow motion because as an actor, you want to try and find out – what animal is this person like! And after six months of watching him, I have found out that he walks like a tiger,” Bhasin said.