‘We auditioned 2000 people and chose 14’ – Kabir Khan on the challenges he faced while picking the actors of 83

Indian film director Kabir Khan has said that picking the actors for his upcoming movie ‘83’ wasn’t an easy task keeping in mind Team India’s achievement under Kapil Dev in the World Cup more than 38 years ago. The movie is set to hit the silver-screens on Thursday, December 23 and there’s been quite a significant amount of buzz and speculations surrounding the film.

The 53-year-old Khan said that he and his team had to audition around 2000 people before they zeroed in on 14. The veteran, who has directed movies like Kabul Express, New York and Ek Tha Tiger, said that he wanted actors, who could precisely fit into the roles of the legendary cricketers from the yesteryears.

“These guys didn’t have to just play cricket, they had to play like legends. Every character’s casting took time- be it Roger Binny, Syed Kirmani, Madan Lal, and of course, Sunil-Gavaskar. Imagine I had to tell Tahir Raj Bhasin that he has to behave like the greatest batsman alive.

“For Syed Kirmani, I just didn’t want someone who is bald and has a moustache. We auditioned 2000 people for the entire team and eventually chose 14,” Khan was quoted as saying in an exclusive interview with TOI.

Ranveer is a chameleon, says Kabir Khan

Khan also had words of praises for Ranveer Singh and said that the actor has the potential to show a lot of adaptability as far as playing various roles is concerned. Earlier, there were rumours that Arjun Kapoor would be picked to play the role of Kapil Dev.

However, Khan mentioned that he always wanted Ranveer to come onboard keeping in mind his versatility. He lauded him for working hard towards playing the role of the former Indian skipper.

“Ye ek gut and instinct hota hai. Ever since I was asked to make the film, I had only Ranveer on my mind. Ranveer is a chameleon. See his last 4 films and you feel there’s a different human being in each of them. I knew Ranveer would be the perfect choice. I told him it’s not a look-alike contest, you need to imbibe Kapil’s persona,” he added.