Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh were the star attraction on the final night of the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah on Wednesday. In town for the world premiere of their upcoming cricket film 83, Padukone and Singh, who got married in 2018, waved to fans on the red carpet and spoke before the screening of the film.
Padukone was dressed in a coral mermaid gown by Dubai's Michael Cinco featuring striking layers of tulle from the Filipino designer's spring-summer 2019 collection. Singh wore a chest-bearing brown Gucci suit, matched with a hat and neck scarf.
"Deepika's coral mermaid gown is made of layers of shirred tulle from my spring/summer 2019 collection," Cinco told The National. "She asked for a bright and striking colour to wear at the Red Sea International Film Festival."
The actors were accompanied by the film's director Kabir Khan, his wife and actress Mini Mathur, as well as former Indian cricketers Kapil Dev, whom Singh plays in the film, and Mohinder Amarnath. Padukone, who is also one of the producers, plays Dev's wife Romi Bhatia, who also attended the screening.
83 recreates India's historic Cricket World Cup win in 1983 in England, and also features a number of acclaimed actors including Pankaj Tripathi, Boman Irani, Saqib Saleem and Tahir Raj Bhasin. The release of the much-anticipated film has been postponed at least three times as coronavirus-imposed restrictions shuttered theatres across India, first in April 2020 and then again in June this year.
Producers are anticipating a blockbuster response thanks to its star billing as well as India's obsession with cricket. The first official trailer of 83 was released last month, and has already been viewed more than 69 million times on YouTube.
Following their Jeddah appearance, the 83 team will next head to Dubai where they will watch a special promotional video screened on the facade of Burj Khalifa on Thursday night.
83 is scheduled to be released on December 24.
