Boman Irani to play Farokh Engineer in Kabir Khan’s '83

Boman Irani is the latest entrant in the cast of Kabir Khan’s sports film '83 (2020). The actor will be playing former Indian cricketer and team selector Farokh Engineer. The announcement was made by the film’s Facebook page today. 

“Star cast mein chaar-chaand lag gaya! Boman Irani joins '83 to play the legendary Farokh Engineer,” the Facebook post said along with pictures of Irani, Ranveer Singh, who plays Kapil Dev, and Kabir Khan. 

The three of them are standing at the historic Mecca of cricket, the Lord's Cricket Ground in London, England, the same venue where India beat the West Indies in the final of the 1983 World Cup. The film is based on India’s triumph at the world tournament under the leadership of Kapil Dev. 

In an official statement, Irani said of his casting, "I will be shooting for a couple of days here, and then join the team in Mumbai. It’s a great honour to play this legendary character." 

Irani is excited to have got a chance to spend some quality time with Engineer as a part of his preparation for the film.

"I went to Manchester during the World Cup this year and stayed with him for a few days. We even watched the India versus Pakistan match together. It was so surreal; like meeting your boyhood hero. I stayed at his house and we had some good laughs while trying to understand the man for the role," he added. 

Irani spoke of a funny moment when Khan discussed the role with him. "Kabir called me a few months ago and offered me this role. Instinctively, I replied, ‘If you give this role to someone else, we’ll not be friends anymore.’ I’m here now, shooting," he said. 

Known for his strokeplay as a batsman, Engineer, who was from Mumbai, played 46 test matches and five one-day internationals for India from 1961 to 1975. He is one of the first Indian cricketers to play county cricket in England. 

Engineer was adjudged the Indian cricketer of the year in 1965 and was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1973. Currently at 81 years of age, he is a match referee in the Indian Premier League [IPL]. 

'83, which also stars Deepika Padukone as Kapil Dev's wife Romi Bhatia, will be released on 10 April 2020.