Kabir Khan’s recent directorial 83 received unprecedented love from film critics groups, as well as audiences. Led by Ranveer Singh, the film chronicles India’s win under Kapil Dev’s captainship, when the team defeated the mighty West Indies in the final to clinch their first-ever World Cup trophy in 1983.
However, the film hasn’t been able to perform as well as it was expected to do at the box office, owing to a surge in the Covid-19 cases across the country that has forced cinema halls to shut in various cities. 83 was released on December 24 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, but the multi-starrer tentpole failed to translate the largely positive reviews into significant box office numbers. The film has so far earned over Rs 97 crore domestically. Even after the three weeks of its release, it hasn’t crossed the Rs 100 crore mark.
But actor Tahir Raj Bhasin, who plays the role of legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar in the movie, is unfazed by the box office figures. He says, “I believe what we have created is a timeless classic. You can watch 83 three weeks or five months from now, it’s still going to evoke the same kind of emotions. At no point before have I seen a film where unanimously every critic in media has loved the film. So for the moment, I feel our priority is the people’s safety. But whenever they watch the movie they will relive the emotion that we have put in on-screen.”
83 also features Deepika Padukone, Pankaj Tripathi, Jiiva, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna, Chirag Patil, Dinker Sharma, Nishant Dahiya, Harrdy Sandhu, Sahil Khattar, Ammy Virk, Adinath Kothare, Dhairya Karwa, and R Badree.
Being part of 83 was “an emotion decision” for Tahir, who received the best feedback for his performance from the man himself, Sunil Gavaskar. “I did it purely because of the nostalgic and iconic moment that is attached to it and to see that emotion being relived by the audience and the kind of love that is pouring in on social media, it’s been the biggest payoff out of this. The most emotional moment for me was when my parents came to Mumbai for the film’s screening and they watched the film and just to see what we were shooting two years ago and to get their response to the film it was amazing. They got goosebumps and were in tears. It’s just a very fulfilling feeling.”
Talking about the best compliment that he received after the film’s release, Tahir says, “The best compliment would have to be when Sunil Gavaskar watched the film and said he loved it and he saw himself in my performance. That’s the biggest validation one can get as an actor.”
