Exclusive: Farokh Engineer of '83', Boman Irani, on Kapil Dev's heart attack: "I bumped into him at an airport but couldn't meet him on the sets"

A film chronicling legendary Kapil Dev's stupendous victory in the World Cup 1983 is ready. The producers' Reliance Entertainment and director Kabir Khan are waiting for Maharashtra to open the theatres so that they can release the film in question, titled '

83

', on X'mas this year. But the entire cast and crew of '83' has gone into a tizzy. Kapil Dev had a heart attack last night and has undergone angioplasty in New Delhi. Stable though, Kapil Dev is in the ICU.

Boman Irani, who plays Farokh Engineer in '83', tells

ETimes

, "Bahut bada jhatka laga sunkar that Kapil Dev has suffered a heart attack. But then I said it aloud 'he is fine' and felt a little calm."

Boman rues the fact that he couldn't meet Kapil Dev ever during his shooting of '83'. "Look, I play Fatrokh Engineer who was a commentator in the 1983 World Cup competition. So, I didn't go to England where most of the cast shot. I missed him."



However, Boman has met Kapil Dev; he had bumped into him at an airport some years back. Kapil and he had a long conversation about

cricket

and films. "He talked very sweetly about my roles and I was thrilled," reveals Boman.

Adds Boman, "I am sure he'll be fine, soon. He is in safe hands. As the angioplasty has been done, I would say that he has been taken care of."

Strange but with Farokh Engineer too, Boman had a chance meeting during the course of a holiday in England. Talking about it, Boman had said, “I wanted to meet Farokh as part of my research. It was strange, but my family and I were on a brief holiday in the UK, and when we were leaving the hotel to head back to India, the manager told me that Farokh Engineer had arrived. He asked me to stay back and watch a match with him, but I told him that I had a flight to catch. Then, he asked me to come back after a few days for the India-Pakistan match. I told my wife Zenobia that Farokh thinks going from London to Mumbai and back is like going to Bandra and getting back. She heard everything and said, ‘Tell him you will come back’. And I am glad that I did.”