Ranveer Singh, Kapil Dev, Kabir Khan and Vishnu Vardhan Induri

It took over 15 months of convincing Kapil Dev, multiple flights from Hyderabad to Delhi, over seven years of the filmmaking process and an indomitable spirit for Vishnu Vardhan Induri to turn his dream of making a film on India’s 1983 World Cup victory into reality. As Kapil Dev points out, “It all started with Vishnu, and the credit for turning the 1983 victory into a film goes to him.” With the film 83 hitting cinemas today, Vishnu talks to us about his dream project. Excerpts:

I chased Kapil Dev for very long. I called him multiple times (in 2012-13). Then I heard that he was coming for an event in Chennai, and I landed up there and introduced myself as the one calling him persistently for an appointment. When he said he wasn’t keen on having a film made on the win, I said, ‘Sir this story has to be told to the world. We are very keen to tell the story.’ Then he looked at his secretary Rajesh Puri and both smiled. He finally agreed to talk to me. And that’s how our first meeting ended.

He felt that it was too early to make a film and kept saying no. Whenever he would not take my call for three-four days, I would land up at his Delhi office all the way from Hyderabad. He was always polite. So it didn’t feel like a rejection to me, and his stature is so huge that I didn’t mind going again and again to him. From a ‘strict no’ to ‘maybe not’ to it is ‘not only about me’ to ‘only if it is about the entire team coming together’ to ‘okay, fine’ — I visited Kapil Dev over 10 times in a year and it took him over 15 months to say okay.

Kapil sir said, ‘I want you guys to make sure that each player gets equal importance, and the film is not just about me.’ That’s when it hit me very hard that this story must be told. If we don’t tell this story to the world then it would be injustice to the game of cricket. Even after 38 years of winning the World Cup, the bond that he and his team share is beautiful. I think their trust and confidence in him, that he is always going to safeguard their interests - that’s what is binding them. He didn’t see the film in advance even though he got ample opportunities because he said ‘I want to watch our film with my team. I don’t want to watch it alone.’ He doesn’t want any privileges of being the captain.

I wanted to tell this story because cricket would not have been this big in our country if the 1983 victory would not have happened. I was confident that the story of the 1983 victory has to be told and I was persistent that I would make it happen. If not me, then someone else would have told this story. I was extremely keen to produce 83. I thought that if I could bring so many stars, so many team owners and so many industries together for the CCL (Celebrity Cricket League, of which he is the founder) then I could do this as well. That gave me the confidence that I could pull it off.

I contacted Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan after his film Lahore won the National Film Award (for Best Debut Film in 2010) and he was also convinced that this is a great story. I am working on a couple of projects with him, and he is an amazing writer. He gave life to my dream with the film’s first draft. And then Kabir Khan (the director) took it forward and made it bigger.

I’m a shy person. I want my work to talk. And I’m very, very happy that many people collaborated with me, had confidence in my idea and my dream came true. Everyone worked for my dream, my vision and that’s the happiest thing. This dream came true only because of Kabir and Ranveer.

----------------------

Recounting how the film’s journey started, Kapil Dev says, “Around five-seven years back Vishnu came to me with this idea of making the film and I said no. But he kept on coming for months. I think it took around two years. He spent a lot of time with me, and finally, I passed on this message to my team. Whatever we do, we do collectively as a team, so the team decided that yeah it is okay. Vishnu then picked Kabir Khan, who was very interested and then told the story to Ranveer and that’s how it happened. But all the credit goes to Vishnu for starting this when he came to meet me. We weren’t ready to talk to anybody for a film. But Vishnu became a friend and we started spending time, then the team and I started thinking about it.”

Kangana Ranaut and theatre chain PVR Cinemas were engaged in a war of words last week after the latter refused to screen Thalaivii until the makers ensured a four-week gap between its theatrical release and subsequent OTT run. The story took a turn on Saturday with PVR agreeing to run the film’s Tamil and Telugu versions after the producers met the four-week demand. However, the multiplex chain was “disappointed” that the Hindi version will drop on Netflix India only after a two-week window, and took a hard stand against its big-screen outing.

Producer Vishnu Vardhan Induri says that while he empathises with the exhibitors, the two-week gap is a necessary measure in this hour. After all, backing Thalaivii — touted to be one of the most expensive woman-led films — comes with its share of risks. “As a producer who has invested so much money in the film, I have the right to recover the investment. Every producer is trying various means [to stay afloat] — some are taking the direct-to-web route, others are waiting for a few more months. I can recover the cost only if there is a two-week window because at this point, box office won’t give me the returns that we would get earlier.”

The biopic on J Jayalalithaa, the late chief minister of Tamil Nadu, was among the films that the exhibitors had hoped would turn the tide in their favour. While the Ranaut-starrer’s Tamil and Telugu versions are slated to drop on Amazon Prime Video in mid-October, Induri says his hands are tied as far as the Hindi counterpart is concerned. “If I opt for a four-week window [for the Hindi version], I will lose money and will land in a financial problem. I will never be able to make a film again.”

Despite the leading multiplex chain barring its release, he says the Hindi offering will enjoy a “wide reach” through local movie halls.

The A L Vijay directorial venture has another disadvantage — cinemas in Maharashtra continue to remain shut. But Induri is undeterred. “If I hold off the release and the third wave hits, I will lose out on seven months or so. Hence, the key people on the film have decided to go ahead with the September 10 release. Kangana stands by our decision.”

In these unprecedented times, producer Vishnu Vardhan Induri braved a challenge, holding on to two big-ticket ventures — 83 headlined by Ranveer Singh and Kangana Ranaut-starrer Thalaivii — in order to unveil them on the big screen. While his plans are afoot to prepare a hybrid release strategy for his projects, the producer spoke to BT about his journey with these films and more. Excerpts:

Real-life stories have always inspired me. For a long time, I have wanted to build a franchise around our freedom fighters who have not received their due. There are so many. Durga Bhabhi is one of them. She inspired the likes of Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh and she made numerous sacrifices for the motherland. Her story is phenomenal. When I was planning the franchise, Azad Hind, we felt her story should be the first one to roll out. Also, I wanted to make this announcement coinciding with our 75th Independence Day. There could not have been a more momentous day to do it. We have already commenced work and we will announce the finer details of the project soon.

The films are complete and ready for release. In fact, Thalaivii will be released on September 10 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. We made these films for a theatrical experience and we are going to bring them out in cinemas. It was a huge risk to wait with such big films in the kitty, and so, it was important for us to safeguard our investment while ensuring the films see a theatrical run. We are working out multiple options. In times like these, with the pandemic still playing on people’s minds, box-office collections can’t be taken as the benchmark for a film’s success. The only criteria should be the recovery of investment while ensuring the film is showcased to an audience as large as possible through whichever model a producer chooses for the film’s exhibition. It could be direct-to-digital, a hybrid of theatrical and OTT, or a straight-out theatrical release. The industry is going through a tough time and we can’t judge anyone if they decided to go with a direct-to-digital release. No one expected this pandemic to hit us this bad.

Producers, who are wanting to opt for a theatrical run, also need to look for various permutations and combinations to de-risk their investments, and in the process, they may need to take some drastic decisions, which might be unconventional. Thalaivii and '83 have been made for the big screen and we want to showcase our films in theatres first. At the same time, we definitely want to safeguard our investment through nontheatrical deals. We, as an industry, including producers, distributors and exhibitors, should all work together and create a win-win situation for each other by relaxing the traditional terms and conditions. Film business arms around the world are supporting one another. We should do that, too.

There were many offers, which were fancy and the prices quoted were quite high, but we have made this film for the big screen. We want the audience to experience this story on the big screen with lovely performances by Kangana and Arvind. It will be a delight to watch Kangana as Jayalalithaa in Thalaivii. Later, they can also watch it on an OTT platform. We have made our films for a theatrical experience. I have to thank Vijayendra Prasad and Rajat Arora (screenwriters) and Vijay (director) who brought my vision to life despite all the constraints and keeping the timelines and the budget of the shoot intact. I am fortunate to have a very strong team with me. Producer Shaailesh R Singh, co-producers — Thirumal Reddy and Hitesh Thakkar and Brinda Prasad, our creative producer have been with me on this incredible journey.

It has indeed been a long journey, but one that has been extremely satisfying and fruitful. The ideas for most of my films come from me and I have been lucky to find writers who have brought my vision to life. Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan had written the initial drafts of '83. Eventually, when Kabir Khan came on board, both as a producer and director, he brought in his own spin. He had his own take on it. Kabir played a captain’s innings in this film. As a director, he pulled off what seemed very difficult to imagine. He had an ensemble cast on hand, difficult weather conditions in the UK while shooting, and he had a strict timeline to meet. He ticked all the boxes well. The film looks great; it’s in 3D, and the audience will be treated to a fabulous experience when they watch it in theatres.

They have all been very supportive and they stood by us in this. They have always supported every decision that makes business sense to us. We had come very close to releasing '83 when the first lockdown happened. A similar incident occurred when we were planning to release Thalaivii. It’s disheartening to bear with that, but the whole world was suffering and there was nothing anyone could do on both occasions. We had to wait to let things get a little better.

If I am able to live my dreams and do things the way I feel is justified for the films we have made, it is because of the friends, family and extremely supportive business partners that I have. Without them and my faith in the almighty, things would not be the same.