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Kabir leads India to a World Cup win
Roshmila Bhattacharya TWEETS@RoshmilaMIRROR
The director will champion a film on the incredible journey of Kapil Dev and his men in blue from 1983
Mirror (July 12) was the first to inform you that Madhu Mantena's pro duction house, Phantom Films, had bagged the rights to one of India's biggest sporting victories. Two days earlier, at a suburban five-star hotel, some members of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, led by the then captain Kapil Dev, signed MOUs giving Madhu, Anurag Kashyap and Vikas Bahl the go-ahead to recreate their unforgettable emotional journey on screen. Now, Mirror has learnt that the film will be directed by Kabir Khan.
"It goes on the floors later this year, as soon as Kabir wraps up the in-progress Tubelight with Salman Khan. A-list actors who play the cricketing heroes are in the process of being finalised.Kapil Dev, Madan Lal, Mohinder Amarnath, Kirti Azad, Krishmachari Srikkanth, Syed Kirmani, Yashpal Sharma, Balwinder Sandhu and even Sunil Gavaskar who had to skip the earlier meet because it was his 67th birthday, will be on board as mentors to the actors," informed a source close to the development.
This was the first time India was crowned world champions and the victory had all the elements of a thriller as the underdogs, after being dismissed for a modest 183 in 54.4 overs, bowled out favourites West Indies for 140 in 52 overs to notch up an incredible 43-run win at the Lord's Cricket Ground. "The film will be shot in various locations because not only will the run-up to the finals be recreated, but it will also uncover the roots of these unlikely heroes including their Jat captain who took a running catch to dismiss Sir Vivian Richards for 33," adds the source.
Named by Wisden as the 'Indian Cricketer of the Century' in 2002, Kapil Dev was born to a building and timber contractor Ram Lal Nikhanj and his wife Raj Kumari on January 6, 1959.This hero from the Northern hinterlands did not even know how to read or write English then, but on the cricket field, the constant refrain was, "Kapil Dev da jawab nahin!"
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