Pankaj Tripathi: Story of 1983 World Cup win and miracles happen in my career

Actor Pankaj Tripathi finds a striking resemblance between his film journey and the Indian cricket team’s quest to win the World Cup in 1983 – both of whom started out as underdogs, which many did not believe they were champions. can emerge. The actor stars in the upcoming “83”, which chronicles India’s victory under the captaincy of Kapil Dev, when the team won its first World Cup trophy in 1983 by defeating tournament favorites West Indies in the final.

Tripathi stars as PR Man Singh, a former cricket player and manager of the World Cup winning team, in the film. In an interview with PTI, the 45-year-old actor said that everyone around him in his village Belsand in Bihar found his acting dreams bizarre, but he could achieve it by believing in his passion – like a cricket team. could.

“I remember the famous line ‘Tumse Na Ho Payega’ from ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’. We (cricket team and I) had a similar journey. What is the story of ’83’ and my journey shows that like this Miracles keep happening.

“The background I come from, when I used to tell the people of my village that I wanted to be an actor, they would not even laugh. They would go blank, thinking I had gone mad. was beyond possibility,” he said. said.

Tripathi, one of the busiest actors today, struggled for over a decade to gain recognition with Anurag Kashyap’s “Gangs of Wasseypur” in 2012 and most with films like “Newton”, “Bareilly Ki”. Emerged as one of the skilled artists. Barfi”, “Gurgaon”, “Masaan”, “Stree” and the series, “Mirzapur”.

“Today I can laugh and remember these events, but when you’re going through this, it’s hard. When no one believes in you, your dreams, you start doubting yourself too. But somehow, you have a fight, a passion, to keep working towards it.

“I was told by my relatives that if nothing works in acting, then I should change my career. They didn’t trust me but I had to believe in me. That was the only way. Your foundation and faith are yours. You must stand firm,” he said.

Tripathi swung into “83” almost immediately after a brief narration from filmmaker Kabir Khan. Tripathi was just seven years old when the Indian cricket team won its first World Cup after being dubbed the underdogs of the tournament. There was no radio station in his village so he came to know about the historic victory only “two or three years later”.

With “83”, the actor, who is not a cricket lover, got an incredible opportunity to be a part of an inspiring story. “Our World Cup win was crucial to take Indian cricket to where it is today. Not only cricket lovers but also common people will feel inspired after watching the film, as it was an incredible, emotional ride.

“We are recreating history with the film and there were moments during the shoot where we were goosebumps, especially at the Lord’s Stadium where we played the final match.”

“83” is titled by the actor Ranveer singh, who plays the role of Dev. The film also stars Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jeeva, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna, Chirag Patil, Dinkar Sharma, Nishant Dahiya, Hardy Sandhu, Sahil Khattar, Ammi Virk, Adinath Kothare, Dhairya Karva and R Badri.

To play Man Singh, Tripathi relied on Khan’s script and held a marathon ten-hour meeting with the former administrator at his home in Hyderabad. “He was a man who was behind the camera. People know the contribution of 14 players, but not the role of Maan bhai. The film will showcase him. When I met him, I found him remarkable. His passion for the game Incredible. They have an in-house museum, the entire third floor of their house is dedicated to cricket.”

Though Tripathi plays a real-life person, the actor did not want his performance to be a gimmick. Instead of focusing on fixing the physicality, the actor said that it was important for him to understand who Man Singh is as a person.

“When I play a real life character, I try to get as physical as I can but my focus is on capturing the thoughts of that person. If I can capture their thoughts, feelings, even if I don’t materialize Miley, that’s fine. Because more than looks, it makes a person how and what he thinks. I wanted to capture Man bhai’s dedication, discipline and his passion for cricket.”

Presented by Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Films, ’83’ will hit the theaters on December 24 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.