A
little
over
two
weeks
after
his
much-awaited
film
83
released
theatrically,
filmmaker
Kabir
Khan
describes
his
headspace
as
a
"mixed
bag".
While
he
is
happy
that
the
cricket
drama
has
received
unprecedented
love,
the
feeling
is
also
punctured
with
the
reality
that
the
project's
box
office
prospects
took
a
hit
due
to
the
coronavirus
pandemic.
Led
by
Ranveer
Singh,
the
film
chronicles
India's
win
under
Kapil
Dev's
captainship,
when
the
team
defeated
the
mighty
West
Indies
in
the
final
to
clinch
their
first-ever
World
Cup
trophy
in
1983.
83
was
expected
to
script
history
at
the
box
office
upon
its
release
--
in
Hindi,
Tamil,
Telugu,
Kannada
and
Malayalam
--
on
December
24
but
the
big-scale
multi-starrer
failed
to
translate
the
glowing
reviews
into
numbers
the
trade
was
betting
the
film
to
do.
The
film
has
so
far
collected
more
than
Rs
97
crore
domestically,
according
to
production
house
Reliance
Entertainment.
In
an
interview
with
PTI,
Khan
called
the
film
"a
victim
of
the
pandemic" and
said
83
has
put
up
the
numbers
despite
battling
COVID-19
restrictions,
50
per
cent
theatrical
occupancy
in
key
states
and
the
complete
closure
of
cinema
halls
in
Delhi
and
Haryana.
"I
feel
exhilarated
to
have
created
this
film
which
has
received
so
much
love
but
at
the
same
time
there
is
a
disappointment
that
not
everybody
who
wants
to
watch
it
can
see
it
today
because
the
pandemic
is
there
with
historic
numbers.
We
nurtured
the
film
for
two
years,
waited
for
the
correct
time
so
that
everybody
gets
to
see
it
on
the
big
screen."
"But
with
this
pandemic,
despite
our
best
planning,
one
can
never
get
it
right.
We
did
not
know
that
the
explosion
(of
cases)
would
literally
take
place
on
the
day
of
our
release.
December
24
is
when
we
(the
country)
hit
6,000
cases
and
in
10
days
we
crossed
a
lakh.
It
was
just
sad," Khan
said.
The
director
said
48
hours
prior
to
the
release,
the
team
got
an
indication
that
things
could
go
"spiralling
out
of
control",
but
it
was
too
late
for
them
to
react,
so
they
went
ahead
keeping
their
"fingers
crossed".
A
day
after
the
film
opened,
Gujarat,
Haryana
and
Uttar
Pradesh
announced
a
night
curfew,
which
Khan
said
impacted
the
night
shows
of
the
film.
Within
four
days,
Delhi
CM
Arvind
Kejriwal
announced
the
closure
of
cinema
halls.
States
like
Kerala,
Rajasthan,
West
Bengal,
Punjab,
Karnataka,
Tamil
Nadu
and
Uttar
Pradesh
followed
suit
and
capped
the
theatrical
occupancy
at
50
per
cent.
Khan
said
the
severity
of
COVID-19
kept
the
team
on
tenterhooks
as
they
would
wake
up
everyday
and
wonder,
"Ok,
now
what
has
shut
down?"
"So
many
people
loved
the
film,
so
naturally
one
has
to
question
what
went
wrong
and
what
went
wrong
is
the
pandemic.
There
was
no
chance
to
fight
back.
The
pandemic
is
not
just
about
theatres
shutting
down
but
also
this
psyche...
The
mindset
(of
stepping
out)
can
change
overnight."
While
the
audience
reception
to
the
film
was
overwhelmingly
positive,
Khan
feels
there
was
an
"agenda"
with
which
the
trade
reported
figures
of
83,
by
completely
eliminating
the
impact
of
the
pandemic.
"The
film
is
a
victim
of
the
pandemic.
How
can
you
report
the
figures
without
the
context,
that
there
is
a
raging
pandemic
out
there?"
the
53-year-old
filmmaker
asked.
"You
are
comparing
us
to
other
films
which
were
released
in
non-COVID
normal
times,
and
this
is
a
film
that
has
been
hit
hard
by
COVID
on
a
daily
basis,
because
we
are
losing
hundreds
of
theatres
and
screens.
Despite
that
we
have
touched
Rs
180
crore
globally,"
he
pointed
out.
While
83
has
underperformed
at
the
box
office,
the
trade
has
hailed
Allu
Arjun-starrer
Pushpa:
The
Rise
as
a
bona
fide
blockbuster,
with
its
Hindi
version
clocking
more
than
Rs
74
crore
at
the
box
office.
The
multilingual
thriller
opened
a
week
before
83
and
clashed
with
the
Hollywood
superhero
film
Spider-Man:
No
Way
Home.
Khan
said
unlike
Pushpa
--
which
had
collected
Rs
26
crore
from
its
Hindi
version
in
the
first
week,
when
everything
was
functional
--
83
didn't
even
have
the
chance
to
enjoy
a
restriction-free
run.
"Everyone
now
knows
that
December
26
is
when
it
all
came
crashing
down,
when
we
realised
we
are
in
the
middle
of
a
third
wave.
What
is
the
amount
of
money
they
('Pushpa')
made
before
that
and
what
is
the
amount
of
money
they
made
after
that?
Of
course,
they
kept
continuing
but
at
levels
much
lower
than
us.
Where
did
we
even
have
the
chance
to
fight
that?
To
constantly
say
that,
'Oh
but
that
one
made
money...' Yes,
but
look
at
the
relative
ratios.
If
it
did
Rs
26
crore
in
the
first
week,
they
added
another
Rs
50
and
we
did
another
100.
The
thing
is
when
you
report
numbers
and
do
not
choose
to
mention
the
pandemic
at
all,
does
that
not
sound
completely
weird?
It
was
an
erroneous
reporting
which
is
unforgivable.
It
smells
of
agenda
and
bad
professionalism."
Khan
said
the
entire
team
is
proud
of
the
film
and
is
confident
that
it
will
eventually
get
its
due.
"The
film
is
here
to
stay,
it
won't
ever
be
forgotten.
Ten
years
from
now
if
my
filmography
is
spoken
about,
'83'
will
always
be
on
the
top.
That's
something
which
gives
me
solace
in
the
times
we
are
living
through,"
he
added.
Deepika
Padukone,
Pankaj
Tripathi,
Tahir
Raj
Bhasin,
Jiiva,
Saqib
Saleem,
Jatin
Sarna,
Chirag
Patil,
Dinker
Sharma,
Nishant
Dahiya,
Harrdy
Sandhu,
Sahil
Khattar,
Ammy
Virk,
Adinath
Kothare,
Dhairya
Karwa
and
R
Badree
also
round
out
the
cast
of
the
film.