In the same way that Deepika Padukone plays Romi Dev, the wife of Kapil Dev, the captain of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, Wamiqa Gabbi plays Annu Lal, the wife of Madan Lal, the Delhi medium bowler who got three key wickets in that historic final. Hardy Sandhu, Gabbi’s fellow Punjabi actor, plays Madan Lal.
When I was researching about you, I came to know that you are a trained Kathak Dancer, Is it true?
Yes, I began learning Kathak when I was quite young. ‘Devdas’ was a source of inspiration for me. After 2 years of learning, I got back to studying and then I joined kathak classes for 2 months again in college. After that I got busy in work and now, I am again looking for a Kathak teacher.
How enthusiastic are you about your film?
I am very excited, obviously. I’ve already seen it at the premiere, but I’m looking forward to seeing it with my family.
What was it like working with such a huge star cast?
It was fun to work with them. There were so many faces, and you get to interact with different people. Many of those were familiar and so I didn’t feel like that I was in an unknown environment instead. Ranveer and Deepika were so nice and humble. Even London’s climate was so peaceful that the film’s shoot went off without a hitch.
Generally, when you are working with so many cast and crew members, you get a bit concerned about your part in film and you want to fulfil it properly. However, in this case, everyone made each other feel at ease and was rooting for them to perform at their best.
How was it working with Hardy Sandhu as his wife? Given that you both come from a Punjabi background, how was the environment on set?
It was a pleasure to work with Hardy and Amy. I used to spend most of my time talking to them. Ammy and I have already worked together on two projects and are very good friends, Me-Hardy and Me-Ammy. It was also nice to have some of my people with me in foreign. It made the process easy and fun.
How much interest do you personally take in cricket?
I don’t watch cricket religiously at all, but my family, back in Chandigarh, watch cricket like a religion. My chachu doesn’t mind watching any match, even if it’s on repeat. So along with him, we also used to watch those matches. My family is really happy that I am a part of the film about India’s first World Cup. I watch cricket as a game only and mostly I am interested in the last few overs where the suspense is at peak. I also have friends who watch all kinds of matches, even the recorded ones too. So, I think the cricket has that effect on people.
Though we all know about Bollywood and cricket ka Rishta in India, do you think a movie about cricket with such a fantastic star cast will make it more impactful?
Definitely, as I have said earlier, in India, cricket is like religion, when we talk about the world cup it’s like do or die situation for many fans. So, I am very confident that people are going to like this film. I have friends which don’t watch cricket but since this is about India’s first world cup and the way Kabir Sir has made this film along with the response to the trailer, people want to watch it.
What are your upcoming projects?
I’m working with Sakshi Tanwar on a Netflix original series called ‘Mai,’ which is produced by Clean Slate Films. It is almost wrapped up and will be released next year.
Then there’s ‘Khufiya,’ which is currently under production.
The third is ‘Galwakdi,’ a Punjabi film that I worked on prior to lockdown and is now set to be released.
