Ranveer Singh: Tough to copy Kapil Dev's bowling style

Ranveer Singh and Kapil Dev

Even as his Simmba gears up for release later this week, Ranveer Singh has trained his focus on Kabir Khan's '83, the story of how India brought home its first cricket World Cup. "I am here to go all wild," says the actor, who will kick off 2019 with prep for the sports drama. While he will reportedly train in cricket under the sharp eye of the man himself - Kapil Dev - Singh is aware that he is shouldering a huge responsibility in portraying the former skipper on screen.

File photo of Kapil Dev in action

"Kapil Dev was a force of nature - after he was made captain at 24, he galvanised the team to inculcate the winning mentality [in them]. People adore him, so the characterisation has to be within set parameters. It's exciting as well as daunting," says Singh. It goes without saying that a Kapil Dev act will be incomplete without his trademark outswinger finding a place on celluloid. "The man has an inimitable [bowling] style and it will be a tough job to replicate it completely."

The film marks his first collaboration with Khan. He considers himself privileged to be part of the retelling of one of the glorious chapters of India's sports history.

Singh says he needed little convincing to greenlight the project: "I came on board when there wasn't even a script in place. All Kabir had was a short collection of anecdotes. He told me, '83 ke World Cup se connected yeh chhoti si ek story sun lo.' Just after the first anecdote, I knew this was an unbelievable story. It has never been captured on celluloid because it's such a mammoth undertaking. Credit is due to our producers who are putting their bets on this project."

Also read: Ranveer Singh: You have to earn a Rohit Shetty film

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