Aamir Khan-starrer sports biopic Dangal has been on a record-breaking spree lately, becoming the first Indian film to cross the $300 million mark in box office earnings last month. And just six days later, it crossed the Rs 2000 crore barrier to set another benchmark for an Indian film.
It is based on the real-life story of Mahavir Phogat, the legendary wrestling coach, whose character is portrayed by Aamir Khan. It depicts the inspiring tale of how he coaches his daughters - Geeta and Babita Phogat to becoming world beaters and the different kinds of challenges they face in their journey.
Also read: Chinese fans pay musical tribute to Aamir Khan's Dangal
However, the real-life Geeta Phogat, still feels that their path to becoming champions was not depicted in the right manner. She stated that the film does not adequately show the effort they put in during their younger days and that their training was much harder than what was shown in the film.
The 28-year-old said, "The hard work and training we did as children was not shown enough. It was all packed in one song and I feel that that aspect should have been highlighted more."
She added, "Our father was even much more strict than what has been shown in the movie. Our school was a few kilometres away from our home and we used to travel on bicycles. But if we did not train as hard as our father wanted, he would take away the cycles and we would have to go walking."
She also talked about Dangal's success in China and narrated an incident that occurred at the recently concluded Asian Wrestling Championships in May.
"I'm glad people in other countries have been able to relate to our story," she said, before adding, "In Delhi at the Asian Championships, the Chinese team went crazy when they saw me! They crowded me immediately and started clicking pictures."
When asked about her plans of competing in future tournaments, she said, "Things have been difficult due to my previous injury but I am training really hard and putting all my efforts into making a comeback. My target is to win medals once again for the country - at next year's Asian and Commonwealth Games."
Phogat was speaking at the launch of the team jersey of the Gujarat Fortune Giants in Ahmedabad, who are one of the four new teams that will feature in the new season of the Pro Kabaddi League. Here's hoping we see her back on the mat and winning titles soon!
Also read: Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat qualify for Senior World Wrestling Championship 2017