IFFM 2022 Invites Kapil Dev as the Guest of honour; Will celebrate Ranveer Singh's 83
Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev will be seen gracing the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022. Coming back after 2 years of virtually organising the event, IFFM will now be physically held in the Australian city from August 12th to 20th, and the former Indian captain will be attending the event to celebrate Kabir Khan's sports drama 83, which witnessed its theatrical release last year on December 24. The movie revolves around the journey of India's cricket squad led by Kapil Dev.
While expressing his emotions about being part of one of the world's leading and biggest Indian film festivals, the legendary cricket star told the news agency, ANI, "I look forward to being part of IFFM 2022. It's a great platform for celebrating the best in Indian cinema. I truly do believe that sports and cinema are two major cultural experiences for not only Indians but various communities and countries that bind us together."
Pointing out that cinema and sports are something that binds people together irrespective of several differences, Kapil Dev added, "It's something for decades now that has united people. It's a deep-rooted emotional connection and love we have for both cinema and sports, and when they come together it's a rewarding experience for everyone."
Moreover, the festival director Mitu Bhowmick revealed his happiness as IFFM will now be held physically after 2 years of the pandemic. In addition, he said that the authorities are "excited" to have Kapil Dev gracing the event in honour of India's first World Cup win. The news agency quoted Bhowmick as saying, "We are absolutely delighted to have IFFM come back physically this year alongside exciting virtual programming. To have with us a legendary cricketer, Mr. Kapil Dev in honour of a film based on his iconic 83 World Cup Win, we are excited to have him in Melbourne. Being a city of cinema and cricket lovers alike, we are certain the audiences will be excited to see him here."
While detailing the event, he added that this year more than 100 films from across the Indian sub-continent will make an appearance at the film festival. In the sports drama, Ranveer Singh played the character of Kapil Dev, Tahir Raj Bhasin played Sunil Gavaskar, Jiiva was seen as Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Saqib Saleem as Mohinder Amarnath, Chirag Patil as Sandeep Patil, Jatin Sarna as Yashpal Sharma, Harrdy Sandhu as Madan Lal, Ammy Virk as Balwinder Singh Sandhu Dinker Sharma as Kirti Azad, Sahil Khattar as Syed Kirmani, Dhairya Karwa as Ravi Shastri and Addinath Kothare as Dilip Vengsarkar.