Took me 15 months to get Kapil Dev to say yes to 83: Vishnu Vardhan Induri

It took over 15 months of convincing Kapil Dev,multiple flightsfrom Hyderabad to Delhi, over seven years of the filmmaking process and an indomitable spirit for Vishnu Vardhan Induri to turn his dream of making a film on India’s 1983 World Cup victory into reality.

- Niharika Lal

As Kapil Dev points out, “It all started with Vishnu, and the credit for turning the 1983 victory into a film goes to him.” With the film 83 recently out in cinemas, Vishnu talks to us about his dream project. Excerpts:

ON CONVINCING KAPIL DEV TO COME ON BOARD

I chased Kapil Dev for very long. I called him multiple times (in 2012-13). Then I heard that he was coming for an event in Chennai, and I landed up there and introduced myself as the one calling him persistently for an appointment. When he said he wasn’t keen on having a film made on the win, I said, ‘Sir this story has to be told to the world. We are very keen to tell the story.’ Then he looked at his secretary Rajesh Puri and both smiled. He finally agreed to talk to me. And that’s how our first meeting ended.