Revisiting the world cup victory of 1983

Bollywood filmmaker Kabir Khan, who visited the Lord’s Cricket Ground and library in London recently as part of the preparation for his upcoming film ‘83, says the year 1983 was very important for Indian cricket as the nation won its first World Cup, but not enough documentation is available in the country regarding the event. 

“As a nation, we have a poor practice of archiving and documenting historical events. I think that is coming from our age-old practice of oral tradition. So, when I started researching for my film, I had to go to Lord’s to get a good insight into the World Cup of 1983. “Though it was the first time India won the World Cup, not much things were documented that well (in India), the way it is kept there in Lord’s,” Khan said in an interview. Citing examples, he adds: “The library even kept the small brochure and tickets of the match... That is a good piece of information for me now. Of course, after watching a match, we throw away the ticket today, but it holds some historical value after 35 years. It was fascinating to observe. “I strongly believe that the whole process of archiving information to keep it for posterity is something that our country should be practising for the future.” 

The legendary cricketer Kapil Dev captained the Indian team for the historical match in 1983. Actor Ranveer Singh is essaying Kapil on-screen. Asked about the progress of the film, Khan said: “I’m in the process of scripting. In fact, it is almost done. But I have a long casting to finish because I have to cast actors not only for the Indian team but also for other teams of the crucial matches. “I have to cast actors for teams like West Indies, Australia, England... I have to train those actors to act like cricket champions, so a lot of pre-production work is going on.” Since he has explored fiction and non-fiction stories on-screen, and is now gearing up for a movie based on a real-life incident, asked which one he finds more challenging, the Bajrangi Bhaijaan famed director said: “I think both have their own challenges.” “For example, my upcoming ‘83 is based on a real incident. Now even if I want, I cannot make Kapil Dev hitting six over-boundaries just to make it exciting. So the challenge is to tell an engaging story with the given facts, without tampering them with your imagination.  —  IANS