Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone starrer 83 is one of the most talked-about movies of late. The film recounts India’s big-time world cup win in 1983, and Ranveer plays Kapil Dev in the movie. The movie is directed by Kabir Khan and is all set to hit the theatres soon.

However, sometime back when the news of the making of the movie was on heights, it was speculated that Arjun Kapoor was the first choice for the film and not Ranveer Singh.

Filmi Beat quoted Kabir Khan, who said, “Ye ek gut and instinct hota hai. Ever since I was asked to make the film, I had only Ranveer on my mind. Ranveer is a chameleon. See his last 4 films and you feel there’s a different human being in each of them. I knew Ranveer would be a perfect choice. I told him it’s not a look-alike contest, you need to imbibe Kapil’s persona.”

He further added, “You know, 83 is a big responsibility for me. I knew if I don’t recreate this correctly, the country will not forgive me. Ditto for Ranveer: If he won’t portray Kapil correctly, the audience will not forgive him. And as you see from the trailer, he has done it brilliantly. He worked very hard.”

Later when PTI asked Arjun Kapoor about it, he said, “This is not my film, it’s a film made for India. It is a very important film for the country. I don’t want to trivialise it by talking about the personal aspect of it. That is not necessary.”