Kabir Khan on getting Deepika Padukone onboard 83: I would have gone to her even if she wasn't married to Ranveer Singh

Deepika Padukone plays the role of Romi Bhatia, Kapil Dev’s wife, in 83, while Ranveer Singh has been cast as the cricket legend.

83 director Kabir Khan, in a recent interview, opened up about Deepika Padukone’s role in the film, headlined by her husband Ranveer Singh. The 36-year-old actor portrays the role of Kapil Dev in 83 while Deepika has been cast as the cricket legend’s wife, Romi Bhatia. 83 marks Ranveer and Deepika’s first movie together after their wedding in 2018.

Deepika Padukone with Ranveer Singh on 83 poster. 

Kabir clarified in the interview that his decision to rope in Deepika for 83 wasn’t influenced by the fact that she’s married to Ranveer. However, he added that seeing the real-life pairs as onscreen couples works well as a marketing strategy.

Speaking to Indian Express, Kabir Khan said: “Her casting has nothing to do with Ranveer. Yes, today, as a marketing campaign it’s a thing to talk about. It’s a real-life couple coming together for the first time after marriage. However, I would have gone to Deepika even if she was not married to Ranveer. I have admired her over the years and she is a fantastic actor, with such an amazing presence. Romi Dev’s character does not have a lot of screentime but it’s very significant. The energy that Romi brings was much needed. When I met Kapil and Romi a few years back, I realised that he is incomplete without her. And if that is the current mood, I am sure that would have been the case years back. The 1983 journey would have been incomplete without her presence in Kapil Dev’s life.”

83, which is about India’s historic win against England at the 1983 World Cup, will open in cinemas on December 24. Apart from Hindi, the film will also release in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

The Hindustan Times review of 83 describes Ranveer's performance in the sports drama as: “Ranveer Singh takes the arduous task of stepping into the shoes of Kapil Dev and aces it, especially with the Natraj pose. He gets into the skin of the then captain with so much conviction and excitement that in some scenes, you actually search for the actor Ranveer but don't complain when you see Kapil Dev hitting it out of the park.”