2016 was a year which saw inspiring stories of real life heroes wow spectators with their message of triumph in the face of all odds.Sports biopics like ‘Dangal’, ‘Sultan’, ‘Azhar’, and ‘MS Dhoni - the untold story ‘, dominated the film discourse in an industry known for its mindless and popcorn entertainers.
From small independent cinema to multi-starrer big budget films, Bollywood is all set to witness the release of various sports biopic in the year 2017, a trend it chooses to carry forward from last year.
Also read: 10 cricketers who make good biopic materials
Here are the 5 sports-based movies you can expect in the year 2017-18.
#1 Sachin – A Billion Dreams
Directed by James Erskine and produced by Ravi Bhagchandka, Sachin – A Billion Dreams is based on the life of Indian cricket’s God – Sachin Tendulkar. The movie will star the Master Blaster himself, along with son Arjun Tendulkar.
The film promises to captures Tendulkar's personal and professional life in substantial detail, as well as reveal few aspects of his life which have never been seen or heard before. The first poster of the film was released in April 2016 by Sachin on Twitter. So far four posters of the film have been released, each showing a different avatar of the 43-year-old.
The film is slated to release on 14th April 2017.
#2 Mariyappan
Superstar Rajinikanth’s daughter and filmmaker Aishwarya Rajinikanth Dhanush is set to make her next Tamil directorial which will be a biopic on Indian Paralympic high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu. The first look of the film’s poster was released by Shah Rukh Khan on January 1, as a New Year gift for cinema lovers.
Titled Mariyappan, the film will throw light on the life of the 21-year-old high jumper from the Salem district of Tamil Nadu. In the 2016 Summer Paralympic games held in Rio de Janeiro, the jumper won gold for India in high jump in the T-42 category.
The tagline of the film reads - “The world may think you can’t, what you think is what matters.”
#3 Gold
After the success of Rustom, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar revealed yet another movie based on a real-life story, Gold. He took to Twitter to share the poster of Gold, which is all set to release in 2018 on Independence Day.
It is being speculated that Khiladi Kumar will be seen in the role of hockey player Balbir Singh in the sports biopic.
Singh was a part of the Indian hockey team in 1948, he was vice-captain of the team in 1952 and was made the captain in 1956. The team won three successive gold medals in the Olympics, however, the legendary player never got the recognition he deserved.
Now, the 92-year-old player lives in Canada with his family.
#4 Untitled Biopic on Pullela Gopichand
Indian-American filmmaker Praveen Sattaru is set to direct chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand's biopic, which will hit theatres this year. The role of Gopichand, who guided Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu to Olympic medals, will be played by Telugu actor Sudheer Babu in the film.
Incidentally, Babu, who is also a badminton player, had, for a brief time, trained under Gopichand.
A source in the film unit said, “Since Gopichand is widely popular, the makers have decided to make the film in Telugu, Hindi and English.”
#5 Untitled Biopic on Dhyan Chand
It has been four years since Ashok Dhyan Chand, son of Dhyan Chand, sold the movie rights of the movie to be made on his father’s life to producers Pooja Shetty and Aarti Shetty. As per reports, the Shetty sisters then took the idea to their filmmaker friend Karan Johar who liked the theme and agreed to co-produce the film.
“Once it (casting) is done we will begin shooting. So, it can be this year or next year,” sources said.
Names of superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor had cropped up to play the hockey legend on screen. Gossip mills were also abuzz that Varun Dhawan would essay the part.
The biopic will showcase the life of Dhyan Chand, how he rose to fame in the British Raj in India, and how he came to be known as one of the legendary hockey players of the world.
#6 Untitled Biopic on Murlikant Petkar
After the grand success of MS Dhoni – The Untold Story, Sushant Singh Rajput will feature in another biopic, this time on Paralympic gold medallist Murlikant Petkar, who won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1970 and Paralympics in Germany in 1972.
The physically disabled army man-turned-sportsman, Petkar, also set a world record in the 50m freestyle swimming and, in the same games, participated in the javelin, precision javelin throw and slalom events.
The Asian Age quoted Sushant as saying: "The minute I heard his story, I was on. I wanted to do it without a second thought. What an inspiring story! After playing Dhoni, I’m looking forward to playing Petkar, who never allowed his physical hurdles to stand in the way of his dreams. I like playing characters who dream big.”
There's no confirmation on when the Petkar biopic will roll.
Sports biopics seem to have become the flavour of the season with many new inspirational stories set to hit the big screens soon.
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