Before heading to London for shoot, '83 actor Sahil Khattar recalls his first meeting with idol Syed Kirmani
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; May 27, 2019)

The unit of Kabir Khan's '83 leaves for London tonight to shoot the sports drama based on India's win at the 1983 cricket World Cup. Sahil Khattar, who plays the role of wicket keeper Syed Kirmani, makes his Bollywood debut with the Ranveer Singh-starrer.

Revealing that Kirmani had little idea about his YouTube videos, Khattar says, "When Kirmani heard that I would be playing him, he checked my Instagram account to see my pictures. Youngsters from his family had seen my YouTube videos. Initially, we spoke on the phone. Finally, when we met, he quipped that we have the same hairstyle."

Besides aping his cricket techniques, Khattar also began growing a moustache to resemble the veteran cricketer. "He saw the pictures from the look test and said that we look strikingly similar. We called each other Kiribhai."

Stating that he feels "like a kid every time he meets his idol," the youngster is happy to listen in as Kirmani regales him with tales of the World Cup. "He told me about the India versus Zimbabwe match. Kirmani had just stepped out of the shower and was having a toast when he saw that India had scored only 17 runs at a loss of five wickets. His towel fell on seeing that," he laughs, adding, "He was the best wicket keeper of 1983 and was given a silver wicket glove as a trophy."