What’s the story?
Sports is the new flavour for success in Bollywood, the top two films of 2016 both had sporting visual representations in the form of Dangal and Sultan. The former raked in Rs 300 crore in two weeks and became the first sports biopic in the country to achieve this feat.
In an attempt to capitalise on this growing sense of nationalism attached to India’s sporting landscape, the Dangal lead could be interested in recreating the story of Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar and her inspirational coach Bisheshwar Nandi. Sportskeeda has learned that representatives from Aamir Khan Productions are currently contemplating on execution, post a Tripue recce last week.
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A source close to the Dipa Karmakar camp said, “We did have people come and talk to us about a potential film on Dipa. So we basically showed them around Tripura and where she grew up. They didn’t tell us they were interested but stated that they are looking at various options for a sports film in 2017/18.
“After Dangal, Dipa’s story had touched them the most and they were quite interested. They met her parents and other people close to her to get to know the story better. I don’t know whether Aamir Khan will be acting, directing or just producing, because I never asked. But, they introduced themselves from that production house.”
There was no response from the Aamir Khan camp about this particular piece of information, but according to sources, the production house is looking for a unique sports narrative to capitalise on the nationalistic fervour. Our source added, “Dipa didn’t speak to them as she was busy with her training, I’m not sure if Bisheshwar da spoke or not, as he himself has put up a very difficult schedule for her in 2017. Before leaving, they stated they would keep us updated about proceedings.”
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Aamir Khan had a similar approach to the Phogat story, where he along with his production team visited all the required areas of engagement. Even in Dangal, a proper recce was done to establish the same surroundings that the Phogat sisters grew up in. If Aamir does decide to be a part of this film, it will be his third sports film after Awwal Number and Lagaan (both cricket).
Dipa Karmakar is India’s most successful gymnast, who finished fourth at the Rio Olympic Games. Her performance won hearts across the globe, considering the lack of infrastructure she had dealt with throughout her career.
The heart of the matter
The interest in unsung new age heroes indicates a gradual shift towards nationalism depiction through sport. In the late 90’s, Army films served a similar purpose during the turbulent Kargil war. This particular film has no confirmation yet, but if execution does take place, the release date will not be before early 2018.
Sportskeeda’s take
More than Dipa Karmakar, the journey of coach Bisheshwar Nandi will leave viewers in awe. From making gymnastic equipment from scooters, to travelling with little or no money to foreign countries, he is the sole reason why gymnastics exists as a high-performance sport in India. Aamir Khan, and only Aamir Khan can do proper justice to a role with such severe complexities.
