Why Bollywood is game for sports biopics...

The past few years have seen quite a few sports biopics in Bollywood, and there are many more in the pipeline. While there apparently is a huge audience that is drawn to such subjects, BT spoke to filmmakers who told us that making sports biopics is no mean feat. They also spoke about the challenges that they face in putting such ambitious projects together, some which involve getting the right cast, investing in research and striking the right balance between realism and entertainment.
Dangal, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (BMB), MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Mary Kom, Azhar, Budhia Singh: Born to Run and Soorma are some of the sports biopics that have released over the last few years.While some of the films received critical recognition and commercial success in equal measures, others missed the mark.
However, it looks like Bollywood’s tryst with sports biopics is here to stay. The industry is agog with talks of a film on cricketer Mithali Raj, Para Olympians Deepa Mallik and Murlikant Petkar, football coach Syed Abdul Rahim, footballer Baichung Bhutia and boxer Dingko Singh. While people have shown interest in acquiring the rights to biopics on sprinters Hima Das and Dutee Chand, movies on badminton champions Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and their guru Pullela Gopichand, and Vijay Barse (who championed the idea of popularising soccer in slums), are underway. BT takes a closer look at why there has been a growing interest in this genre over the past few years, and the challenges that filmmakers face in the process of telling the story of these sport stars.
‘With more such movies finding acceptance, myths have been broken’
According to director Raja Krishna Menon, who is expected to helm the biopic on Dingko Singh with Shahid Kapoor, it has to do with the fact that the number of takers for stories about achievers and their underlying struggles has increased. He explains, “Trends are based on the environment in which we function. Producers, directors and writers gauge them in advance and set the ball rolling. Sports biopics is essentially an off-shoot of a larger umbrella of biopics, where we doff our hats to those who’ve achieved a great deal for the country and themselves, against all odds. This means that there’s a lot of drama that goes behind a milestone achievement. Back in the day, the industry felt differently about these films but today, with more such movies finding acceptance, myths have been broken. India has indeed woken up to its treasure of cinematic sports stories.”
The industry’s changed perspective reflects in the sheer number of stars who are toying with the idea of essaying these phenomenal achievers. Several names like Sushant Singh Rajput, Sonakshi Sinha, Shahid Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Katrina Kaif, Varun Dhawan, Sudheer Babu, Parineeti Chopra and Taapsee Pannu are associated with different sports biopics or have come up in the discussion at one point or another. In the current decade, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s BMB (2013) could well be credited for adding credibility to this sub-genre of filmmaking. Paan Singh Tomar made an effort in this direction back in the late 2000s.
‘Sometimes, calling a film a biopic belittles it, because it covers so much more’
Making a biopic on a sports achiever comes with its own share of challenges. About the struggle that went into making BMB, Rakeysh tells us, “I spent years researching on the subject. Milkha Singh’s life and the Partition of India blended so beautifully with the story. I spent time understanding the period and the way he tried to come out of the shadows of his disturbed past. I ended up staying with Milkha Singh for seven days, though I had planned to stay only for a day. We had recorded 6,000 hours of conversation with him. Sometimes, calling a film a biopic belittles it, because it covers so much more. I didn’t see Milkha’s story as the beginning, middle and end of his journey as a sprinter. There were layers which have relevance today — ethnic violence, Partition and the after-effects on our relations with people across the border.”
He adds, “BMB had a great run at the box office, but I struggled a lot to find actors who’d play Milkha and his sister (played by Divya Dutta) well. I was told that the film might not even recover its budget because it wasn’t a conventional story for that time, as I wasn’t focussing on the most popular game in the subcontinent. It was heartbreaking, but I decided to go on. Logically, I think it makes business sense for people to make biopics on sports figures. But for such a film to work, you need actors or stars, who can become the characters they’re playing and a story that goes beyond celebrating an individual.”
Raja Krishna Menon agrees, and adds, “Every film cannot be about an underdog making it big against odds. If you can replace one sports person with another in the story, then maybe you’ve chosen the wrong kind of story to tell. Making a sports biopic is extremely difficult. There are so many people involved in the life of a sportsman; you need everyone’s version to make an authentic film. It needs prep and the story needs a complete arc.”
‘I don’t look at films as sports biopics. For me, these are just inspiring stories’
Another example of a successful sports biopic is Dangal (2016), featuring Aamir Khan and Fatima Sana Sheikh. The latter played wrestler Geeta Phogat, who had won a medal in the Commonwealth Games, while Aamir played her father, wrestler Mahavir Phogat. Given that Geeta is still an active wrestler, it was interesting to know how Nitesh Tiwari, the director and co-writer of the film, decided to narrate
her life story. He says, “I don’t look at films as sports biopics. For me, these are just inspiring stories, which have sports as the background. Dangal was not just about wrestling; it talked about equal opportunity for girls and how they, too, can make the country proud. Viewers seek inspiration in the underlying messages in these stories. Often, we know enough about sportsmen and women through popular literature. The real challenge is to keep the audience hooked to a story whose end is known. How are you planning to show what happened in their life and tell it interestingly? To me, finding that is the toughest part to crack.”
‘Every biopic cannot be a child-to-champion story, which has a predictable graph’
According to producer Vikram Malhotra, who is bankrolling the Pullela Gopichand biopic with Telugu star Sudheer Babu, the choice of subject is the most crucial aspect of a sports biopic. Elaborating on it, he says, “Typically, the Indian audience has related well to inspirational stories, so far. Sports is a big unifier in our country, and it ends up talking to a large section of the audience, and this is often the reason for choosing a sports biopic. However, the stories chosen should have enough potential to hold the audience for two hours or more. I often wonder why certain biopics are being made when the sports icons still have years ahead of them. A sports biopic cannot proceed unless there is a complete story arc. The reason some biopics are announced and not made is that the person was in the news at that point in time and is not as relevant today. Also, every biopic cannot be a child-to-champion story, which has a predictable graph. The past success of certain biopics cannot become the benchmark for the ones in the making, because no two life stories have the same arc. Milkha and Kapil (Dev) will resonate with the audience for different reasons.”
Echoing Malhotra’s thought, Rajat Aroraa, who penned Azhar (based on the life of former cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin), notes, “Sports biopics have evolved in the West over the last few decades. Their dramas give you goosebumps. So, for this genre to evolve here, you need to find a story that has the potential to do that even 20 years after a milestone has been achieved. As for entertainment quotient in such films, a bit of fictionalising is essential to make it appealing for a larger audience. Also, choosing what to leave out in a biopic is very difficult. It’s years of a person’s life that one tries to encapsulate in two hours of screen time. Figuring out the right aspects is the greatest challenge.”
‘Some stories transcend all boundaries’
Amole Gupte, who has spent four years making the Saina Nehwal biopic, initially with Shraddha Kapoor and now with Parineeti Chopra, has strong reasons for making a film on the badminton champ at a time when her career is far from over. “I find Saina truly inspirational and she is someone who deserves a biopic. India needs to be told that girls can shine and make the country proud. This is one of the biggest reasons I continued working on the project over the last four years. Like Mary Kom, Saina’s story, too, is one of super-human achievements. Every film and genre needn’t be productified for it to work. Some stories transcend all boundaries,” he says.
Sonu Sood, who will be backing the PV Sindhu biopic, believes that India could do with many more sports biopics. He says, “If made well, they can be dramatic, inspiring and yet, human. There is something about these films that works well with viewers across age-groups. I have two sons and I want them to understand the essence of a person’s life — hardships, focus, dedication and the undying spirit to get to the top of the heap. Cinema is a tool for entertainment, but it can also do a lot more if used correctly. Making the right kind of sports biopics can be one of them.”
Biopics that are on standby
While there are many sports biopics in the making, there were some that were announced with great fanfare, but there hasn’t been much progress ever since. Hockey legend Dhyan Chand’s biopic is an example. It’ been talked about for close to a decade now, and yet, the film hasn’t even gone on floors. Similarly, athletic champion PT Usha’s biopic has been in discussion for a few years now. While several filmmakers had expressed interest in her story, including Aanand L Rai, the film is yet to find its cast and get going. The biopic on Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra (starring Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor) has also been in the pipeline for a while now.