Tamil actor Jiiva to play Krishnamachari Srikkanth in Ranveer Singh’s ’83, reveals film's budget is over Rs 100 cr

Tamil actor Jiiva, who is known for his critically acclaimed films like Ram and Kattrathu Tamizh, is all set to make his debut in Hindi cinema with Ranveer Singh’s ’83, a film about the victory of the Indian cricket team at the 1983 World Cup. While Ranveer Singh plays then Indian team skipper Kapil Dev’s role, Jiiva will be seen as the aggressive batsman Krishnamachari Srikkanth. Earlier, it was rumoured that Telugu actor Vijay Devarakonda has been approached to play Srikkanth’s role.

Talking about his character in the film, Jiiva said: “I feel proud and honoured to act as Srikkanth in ‘83. In Indian cricket history, only a few players from Tamil Nadu are well known and the most important one among them is Srikkanth. Being an ardent cricket fan, I have also played a lot of cricket matches so eagerly waiting for the first day of the shoot in May”.

Jiiva also said that ’83 will be a multi-starrer. “Like Baahubali, our film will also be a pan-Indian movie. ’83 is being made on a budget of more than Rs 100 crores. The entire team will begin the major schedule in London," said Jiiva who will be in London for nearly one month and he is training under a famous Indian cricketer.

Before leaving to London, Jiiva will be completing the shoot of award-winning director Raju Murugan’s Gypsy and an untitled multi-starrer, produced by the actor’s own production house Super Good Films.

Directed by Kabir Khan of Bajrangi Bhaijaan fame, ’83 is being jointly produced by Reliance Entertainment, Phantom Films, and Vibri Media. The film, which was earlier scheduled to release on 5 April, has been now slated to release on 30 August.

In his official statement, Kabir Khan previously said: “As a young schoolboy, when I watched India win the 1983 Cricket World Cup, I had no idea that from that day onward, cricket in India will change forever. As a filmmaker, for me, the journey to that win, filled with raw energy and sheer passion of that young Indian team, is probably one of the most exciting stories I have worked on. And it’s great to have Ranveer come on board to play Kapil Dev, as honestly, I could see no one else for the role, ever since I started finalising the script”.

At the launch of ’83, Ranveer Singh said: “I never knew the backstory of the 1983 World Cup win because cricket was already a big thing during my childhood. When I heard the story of ’83 from Kabir Khan, I was surprised to know about the challenges faced by the 1983 squad. More than cricket, this film has a human story”.

A section of media reported that Deepika Padukone has been approached to play Kapil Dev’s wife Romi but there is no official confirmation from the actress yet on the buzz. Interestingly, there is a scene in the film where Romi leaves the stadium during the final match as she thought that India wouldn’t win but after she left, things turned upside down and Kapil Dev lifted the World Cup.

‘83 will focus more on the cricket and how the team won the World Cup and hence, there won’t be much scope to explore the personal lives of each player. As Romi’s role will have less screen space, we have to wait and see whether Deepika will give her nod or not.