Upcoming Bollywood Movies Based On Hockey

After the astounding success of Shimit Amin’s Chak De India, Bollywood seems to have taken a liking for movies based on field hockey. Cricket, no doubt is the most popular sport in India, but hockey has always been closer to the heart of Indians.The recent performances of the Indian team in International tournaments have prompted filmmakers to revolve their subjects around the game.While there have been many movies based on cricket, hockey has not featured a lot in Bollywood. This is going to change in the year 2015, with Bollywood planning not one or two but four movies based on hockey. Following are the upcoming movies which are based on field hockey:

#1 Udta Punjab

The movie which focuses on the drug abuse problem in Punjab has hockey as a major influence with actor Alia Bhatt playing a role of a hockey player. The actress recently posted a picture of a hockey stick on her Instagram page calling it her NEW FRIEND. In order to prepare for the role, she has been practicing hockey for two hours every day in Mumbai.

The movie also stars two other top Bollywood stars- Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor and also features Punjabi singer/actor Diljit Dosanjh. The movie will be produced by Anurag Kashyap and the shooting for it is expected to start this month.

#2 Prithipal Singh

While Dhyan Chand and Balbir Singh might get all the laurels, Prithipal Singh, who won three Olympics medals (2 Gold and 1 Bronze) is surely a forgotten man in Indian hockey. With sports biopic being the flavour of the season, a biopic on the man, nicknamed,”king of short corner” will release this year. Deadliest penalty corner expert of his generation, full-back Prithipal Singh saw the best and worst days of Indian hockey.

The story revolves around his playing career, his post-retirement job as director of Youth Welfare in college and his death (he was shot dead by his students in 1983). Vikas Kumar who plays the role of Rajat in popular TV show CID will be seen essaying the role. The movie was made on a meagre budget of Rs. 1 crore and won the award for the ‘Best Feature Film’ at the All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival.

#3 Sandeep Singh

Another name joining the list of upcoming sports biopic is India’s ace penalty corner expert and Jaypee Punjab Warriors star Sandeep Singh. The movie will be based on his life as a hockey player and will focus on his struggles after being shot in the back accidentally when he was on his way to join Indian team to participate in 2006 World Cup in Germany. The incident almost paralysed the full back and he was on a wheelchair for two years.

The 28-year-old suffered many hardships (doctor said he could never play hockey again) in those two years but he defied those odds and made his comeback in the Indian team and helped India qualify for the London Olympics. Bollywood actor Chitrangada Singh has turned producer for the movie and it is rumoured that actor Ranbir Kapoor will play the lead role in the movie.

#4 Dhyan Chand

This is probably the biggest sports biopic to be ever made in Bollywood. The biopic of hockey legend Dhyan Chand will be produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions along with Aarti and Pooja Shetty’s WalkWater Media. Rohit Vaid who has an experience in directing TV shows for 23 years will direct the movie. Dhyan Chand scored in excess of 1000 goals during his career, along with being part of three Olympic Gold winning campaigns and is widely regarded as the greatest hockey player in India’s history.

Such is his popularity that he still was the top trend according to Google Trends even after his death in 1979. It is rumoured that the role of Dhyan Chand will be played by actor Shah Rukh Khan.