Ranveer Singh's '83' hits cinemas

Bollywood´s retelling of the 1983 World Cup hit cinemas Friday, recalling a stunning underdog victory that was instrumental in turning India into the cricket-crazy nation it is today.

Captained by Kapil Dev, seen now as one of cricket´s best ever players, India began the tournament in England as rank outsiders but ended up triumphing over the all-conquering West Indies in the final at a raucous Lord´s.

Dev is played in "83" by Ranveer Singh. The Bollywood superstar honed his own cricket skills four hours a day for six months to bowl and bat -- and walk, talk and smile -- like the captain.

In an interview with AFP, Dev said India were helped by being underdogs and were simply "enjoying ourselves".

"There were no expectations. All the media´s attention was on Australia, England, West Indies, and all the pressure was on the other teams," the 62-year-old said.