(This story was first published on 5 February, 2019 and is being republished from The Quint's archives after the release of the trailer of '83')
They always say ‘like father like son.’ We have seen generations after generations following the careers of their fathers, trying to take forward the journey their father’s embarked upon. You have so many examples of doctors, engineers, architects, lawyers, cricketers etc.
My filmy career was an accident from the very beginning. I was very shy since my younger days, even to perform in front of my schoolmates. And I had stage fright. From my childhood, I never took part in such events or programmes.
After we won the World Cup in 1983, I was offered Kabhi Ajnabi The by Vijay Singh Patwardhan, the Maharaja of Sangli and also the father of famous Bollywood actress Bhagyashree Patwardhan. I really don’t know why he offered this film to me. I also don’t know why I said yes to it.
Years have passed by since the movie but one thing I will surely say, it was a grand experience. Working with the top actors of that time – Poonam Dhillon, Shakti Kapoor, Debashree Roy, Iftekhar, Ramesh Deb, Seema Deb, Narendranath – was something I never imagined I would be able to experience.
My performance, however, was criticised by so many people, including cricket selectors! The film did not do well at the box office but if you ask me, honestly, the experienced of going through the process of making a film was phenomenal and if someone were to offer another film to me today, I will readily say yes again.
I would like to make one thing very clear, I never accepted the movie for money or for fame. It happened so fast that I just did it for the sake of it.
Friendships between cricketers and film people go a long way back. Captain Mushtaq Ali and Dilip Kumar, Sunil Gavaskar, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh are all friends with the Khans of the industry. This friendship has continued to grow. I was offered a lot of commercials during my cricketing career, the money was very little but it was a lot of fun. I never wanted to be an actor or a model. I accepted whatever came my way.
Today, when I look back, I have worn so many different hats. From being a cricketer to coaching to cooking to editing sports magazines to writing my biography. I have even taken part in motor rallies, appeared on TV as an expert, done TV commentary and my latest new adventure is becoming a radio jockey.
They say life is short and one must enjoy it. And this has been my way of enjoyment. Not many people get all these opportunities, and the experience I have gained doing all these things has made me a very happy man.
I don’t know what more is written for me in the remainder of my life but today, a big opportunity has come for my elder son, Chirag Patil. Mind you, both my sons have chosen to work in the film industry. My younger son Prateek is in the direction side while Chirag is trying his best to make a mark as an actor for the last eight years.
Chirag’s case was totally different than mine. From his very childhood, he was interested in taking part in dramas and competitions in school and truly enjoyed it.
When my sons were in the 6th and 7th standards, they did try their hand at cricket and lawn tennis. As a father I never pushed them or forced them to play the sport and I could see that both of them were not keen in playing any sport.
Like I did one film to see what the experience is like, they tried their hands at cricket and lawn tennis. But one thing I had told them was that they were free to choose any other career. My wife Deepa Patil was very upset and I think even today has not forgiven me for not pushing them into becoming cricketers. If you ask both my sons, they will say it was great advice and decision from my side.
I have so many friends in the film industry, and I carry very high regards for all of them. I did try and introduce Chirag to them but it never worked out. However, he never gave up for the last eight years and one day he came home with a big smile and told me and my wife that Dev Anand had signed him for his film, Charge Sheet. It was such a pleasant surprise for both of us. What I liked the most about it all was that from his audition to the day he got selected for the movie, he did not told Dev Anand and his team that he was my son. Later on, when Dev Sahab came to know about it, the first thing he did was call me and Deepa to his office. That’s how my son’s film journey began.
Chirag has already done eight films and has a hit Marathi serial called Yek Number under his belt. And now, Kabir Khan has given him the big chance of portraying his father in the film ’83 based on our World Cup-winning campaign.
If you all don’t know, it was our teammate Balvinder Singh Sandhu’s idea for a film to be made on the 1983 World Cup victory and he approached our filmy friends and discussed this subject and now producer Madhu Mantena and director Kabir Khan will be putting the movie together.
From the day the film was announced, my wife Deepa was hoping and wanting Chirag to play my part and she must have really prayed hard! When Ranveer Singh came on board to play Kapil Dev in the film, Chirag and many others were called for an audition and I think Kabir Khan must have heard the past prayers.
Today, I feel proud and happy because Chirag did not get selected because he is my son, he has gone through an audition process to get selected for this film. Now it is up to him – Deepa and I can only wish him well.
My son has worked hard for the last eight years and my advice to him now is to not stop working hard. Success and failures are part of life, how you handle it is more important.
Chak de Chirag!
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