Kabir Khan: Classic story to distinguish jingoism from patriotism

By - Uma Ramasubramanian

DECEMBER 21,2021

Kabir Khan could have well pursued an OTT release for 83. But that wouldn't come close to how he had envisioned the ambitious film playing out. After all, the filmmaker wants 'theatres to turn into stadiums' when Team India comes on screen. So, after a 'frustrating' wait of almost 20 months, Khan is ready to revisit the 1983 Cricket World Cup on the big screen with the Ranveer Singh-starrer. 'The real story lies off the pitch. Everybody knows what happened on the pitch. A sports story shouldn't be about sports it should be about the triumph of human beings. The challenge for the filmmaker is how to make the [World Cup] journey exciting. How can you [make the audience] root for them, or feel nervous when they are in a tight spot? I want people to discover what we went through to pick up that World Cup,' says the director.

Kabir Khan could have well pursued an OTT release for 83. But that wouldn't come close to how he had envisioned the ambitious film playing out. After all, the filmmaker wants 'theatres to turn into stadiums' when Team India comes on screen. So, after a 'frustrating' wait of almost 20 months, Khan is ready to revisit the 1983 Cricket World Cup on the big screen with the Ranveer Singh-starrer. 'The real story lies off the pitch. Everybody knows what happened on the pitch. A sports story shouldn't be about sports it should be about the triumph of human beings. The challenge for the filmmaker is how to make the [World Cup] journey exciting. How can you [make the audience] root for them, or feel nervous when they are in a tight spot? I want people to discover what we went through to pick up that World Cup,' says the director.