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With the advent of 2018, it's biopic season for Bollywood, especially in the genre of sports. Leading the front is Bollywood, with biopics on Sandeep Singh and the journey to independent India's first Olympic medal, titled Soorma and GOLD respectively being the prominent ones in line for a 2018 release. Even regional cinema is not far behind, with the Punjabi film industry taking a huge gamble with a biopic on the Junior Hockey World Cup winning Captain, Harjeet Singh Tuli, titled 'Harjeeta'.
Apart from that, biopics on legends like Murlikant Petkar, Abhinav Bindra, Saina Nehwal, Pullela Gopichand etc. are also under the process of shooting, starring major faces like Sushant Singh Rajput, Saina Nehwal, Harsh Vardhan Kapoor, Sudheer Babu respectively.
However, there are some more sportspersons, who stories are not only iconic, but also worth being essayed on the silver screen, and capable of minting millions, owing to the availability of the right recipe that Bollywood desperately needs for a blockbuster movie. So here are the 5 unsung Indian sporting stars who deserve a biopic on their own:-
#5 Deepa Malik
While Bollywood does boast of feminism and girl power, it has hardly any movie in its collection, the male bashing propaganda kept aside, that have created any profound impact on the Indian audience. But if someone dares to take a risk and create a biopic on India's first female Paralympic medalist, Deepa Malik, he/she is sure to strike gold.
A national level women's cricketer from Rajasthan, Army enthusiast, an avid biker who married an Army cadet just for the coincidence of their passion for biking, and later overcame a life-threatening disease to win against all odds, despite being stuck to a wheelchair for life, this can be nothing better than a sure shot recipe for a successful biopic.
Her journey to the Rio Paralympics needs no extra masala, for her life is as dramatic as any successful Bollywood drama. Needless to say, Deepa Malik's life can be a right choice for a biopic. It's up to the Bollywood to decide which actress would fit the role of this legendary para-athlete.
#4 Anju Bobby George
A discriminatory environment, the struggles to become a world-class athlete, a tryst with world champion long jumper Mike Powell, that changes her life forever, a husband who gives up his own career in Men's Triple Jump to let her dreams have wings and the first Indian to get a gold at any IAAF World Championships
This is just a fraction of the tumultuous, yet a remarkable journey in the life of one of India's most remarkable athletes, Anju Bobby George, who is till date the only Indian to have climbed the podium at the IAAF World Championships in the 2003 edition. It's an irony that despite such claims to fame, not even half of the country's womenfolk know about her laurels.She is a legend, who has not been given her due credit.
Had it not been for the shady athletes from the former Soviet bloc, who allegedly made the women's long jump event at Athens Olympics 2004 one of the dirtiest sports events after the notorious 100 m. race from the Seoul Olympics 1988, courtesy their involvement in rampant doping, Anju could've been the first ever independent Indian to have clinched an Olympic medal in athletics. This dramatic journey does deserve a biopic of its own.
#3 Harendra Singh
While Chak De India was a semi-fictional tale of the victory of the underdogs, allegedly based on the life of Mir Ranjan Negi, one man's real-life tale was much more dramatic than this semi-fictional biopic. Despite being one of the best players in his class, Harendra Singh, who hailed from Chhapra, Bihar, was pilloried for the narrow miss at the 2005 Junior Hockey World Cup.
At a time, he had to mortgage his house, as well as most of his wife's jewelry, in order to redeem himself as a coach. The dramatic journey, which included his legendary guidance to immortal victories at the 2009 Azlan Shah Cup, 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, as well as his moment of redemption at the 2016 Junior Hockey World Cup, is needlessly the stuff of legendary biopics.
An honest take on this stubborn coach's life, who refused to toe any line in his mad pursuit to success, is something that can elevate Indian cinema to a legendary status worldwide. Also, an insight into the life of the two people, who stood like rock-solid pillars of support with him in his tumultuous journey, including his wife Samiksha and his best friend, the legendary hockey star Dhanraj Pillay would be a wholesome treat for serious cinematic buffs.
It might be too early to suggest names, but one can expect actors like Manoj Bajpayee, Irrfan Khan or even someone as charismatic as Randeep Hooda to take up this brilliant role. If successful, a biopic on this legendary coach will be a blast for sure.
#2 Sourav Ganguly
A spoilt brat, who refuses to do lowly jobs, a captain who pays his rivals back in the same coin, an aggressive player who wants to win at all costs, a legend who inculcates the habit of winning in the Indian cricketers and a rebel who no one can stop.
The life of ex-Indian cricket captain Saurav Chandidas Ganguly, 'The Prince of Kolkata' is the perfect recipe for a spicy Bollywood biopic. A maverick who never played by the rules, a cricketer who scored a smashing century against the English on debut, a captain who led India to a World Cup final after 3 decades are some of the glorious feathers in the cap of this Bengali legend.
Apart from that, his controversial spat with ex-coach Greg Chappell or his whirling of the jersey at the Lords after India won a testing tri-series against England in 2002, or even his love story with choreographer cum classical dancer Dona Roy would add more drama and excitement to his already roller-coaster life. If this hits the floors, Saurav Ganguly's biopic can raise him to the status of immortal legends, in a certainly better way than the disastrous biopic of 'Azhar'.
Fun fact, if Ranveer Singh is chosen for the titular role, he will set the box office on fire, since the life of Saurav Dada exactly resonates with his own maverick life, albeit on a different stage!
#1 Sushil Kumar Solanki
Perhaps the sportsperson whose tale really needs to be told to the future generations with immense pride is that of the legendary wrestler Sushil Kumar Solanki, the only Indian to have won the World Championship title at all levels [cadet, junior and senior] as well as winning back to back Olympic medals, something unmatched to this date.
Sushil had seen the worst, including ill-equipped facilities and constricted dormitories, before he earned a surprise bronze medal at Beijing Olympics 2008, 56 years after K D Jadhav won the first individual Olympic medal for independent India. Since then, he never looked back.
Much like 'Dangal', Sushil Kumar's story is a poignant relationship between the wrestler and his coach, the coach here being ex Asian stalwart, Satpal Singh, who has been with Sushil through thick and thin. Be it his training at Chhatrasal, or the journey to the World Championship title in 2010, or even the historic silver medal at London Olympics 2012, an insight into the emotional relationship between the guru and the shishya would work wonders, just the way 'Dangal' set the cash registers ringing.
On an optimistic serious note, I'd suggest that such a biopic should hit the floor only after Tokyo Olympics 2020. Who knows if Sushil can deliver the legendary climax that would make his a biopic a blockbuster: an Olympic gold?
