Amit Ravindernath Sharma's 'Badhaai Ho' was immensely appreciated by the Indian audience. The film crossed the ₹100 crore mark recently and is still running successfully in theatres.
However, within a month of the release of his last film, the director officially announced that he will start working on a feature project that will showcase the golden years of Indian football. For the uninitiated, the time period between 1951 to 1962 is known as the Golden Era of Indian football as India was one of the best teams in Asia back then.
The Indian team won four editions of the Quadrangular Cup from 1952 to 1955, were the gold medallists at the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games, finished 4th at the 1956 Olympics, and had many more success stories during this time period.
Amit Mishra has established himself as a director with 'Badhaai Ho'. The film received rave reviews from critics and fans alike. The dialogue delivery in the film is what captivated the audience the most. The choice of actors who played the characters was also ideal.
By deciding to make a film on Indian football, Amit is entering into unchartered waters. The director has already started prepping for the project and getting into the skin of it by meeting veteran players Fortunato Franco and Tulsidas Balaram. These two players were part of the gold medal-winning Indian football team at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta and are considered legends in the sport.
There have been a few forgettable Bollywood films on Indian football in the past but a good film has been a long time coming.
Ajay Devgn has been roped in for the unnamed film Amit Sharma announced on Twitter. Whose role Ajay will portray is yet unknown. The film is said to revolve around the life of Syed Abdul Rahim, the legendary coach of the Indian football team during the golden years, and will be his biopic.
Renowned Hindi movie critic Taran Adarsh had also announced the film back in July this year through his Instagram handle. Boney Kapoor and Akash Chawla's Freshlime Films will produce the biopic together.
Indian football fans will be eagerly waiting for this one as it comes from one of the best Bollywood directors at the present moment and they can also get to see the story of one of the greatest unsung heroes of the sport on the big screen.