Jiiva likely to play Kris Srikkanth in Kabir Khan’s '83?

Over the last few months, several names of south Indian actors such as Allu Arjun and Vijay Deverakonda have been associated with Kabir Khan’s '83, a story about the retelling of the events that paved way to India’s first ever World Cup win in 1983.

It is believed that Allu Arjun and Vijay Deverakonda were approached to play the role of former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth in the film, which stars Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev. However, reliable sources from the industry have confirmed that popular Tamil actor Jiiva has been roped in for the role.  

According to a report by Deccan Chronicle, Khan was very clear that he wanted a Tamil actor to essay the part of Srikkanth, who is a Tamilian.

“The film’s director Kabir Khan was clear that he wanted to cast a Tamil actor for the role of Srikkanth. He was looking for an actor who is young and talented, and eventually found that in actor Jiiva. When he approached the actor for the part in October, Jiiva came on board instantly,” a source was quoted in Deccan Chronicle.

Jiiva, according to the report, has already started training for the role under the supervision of Srikkanth himself. He’s been taking cricket lessons for two hours on a daily basis and his training will go on till February. He’s expected to join the sets from March to commence shooting. Reliance Entertainment, Phantom Films and Vibri Media are jointly bankrolling the film.

On the career front, Jiiva has just wrapped up shooting for Tamil film Gypsy. He plays a travelling musician in the film, directed by Raju Murugan, of National Award-winning Joker (2016) fame.