Indian Film director Kabir Khan is looking forward to tapping into the potential of the upcoming film Industry of Saudi Arabia and collaborating with artists and filmmakers in the Kingdom.
During the premiere of his star-studded film ’83, based on India’s iconic cricket WorldCup win in 1983, at the closing of the RedSea International Film Festival on Wednesday said, “At present, I am busy with marketing the film ’83, and later, I would love to come and definitely explore the possibility of filmmaking in the Kingdom. We could collaborate after getting the feel of what is available here and how can we make it,”. He also added that the plans were already in discussion with the Managing Director, RedSeaIFF, Shivani Pandya.
While talking about the film, Khan said, “The unique experience behind making ’83 was incredible. Cricket in India is a billion-dollar industry. It was a daunting task to get 14 superstars together to act as legendary players. The cricket match is not the actual story but the human story behind it was what matters most to me.”, as reported by Saudi Gazette.
He pointed out the film focused on a single event that was considered to be the turning point in Indian Sports history. It was the first victory for India post-Independence. “The iconic 175 not out innings of Kapil Dev, which was a world record, and lifting of the World Cup infused and continues to infuse a great deal of confidence in Indians all over the world,” he said.
Talking about the making of the film, Khan said that it was not easy to do what the players did in that World Cup. “It took several months of rigorous training with four or five hours in the cricket field on a daily basis to train the young stars to play like the legends. Fortunately, a member of the original team was the coach who knows the style of every player,” he added.