Athiya Shetty’s Afshan Ashiq biopic to roll in December?

If trade sources are anything to go by, Kashmiri footballer

Afshan Ashiq

’s biopic, starring Athiya Shetty as the central character, is likely to go on floors in December this year. Titled ‘

Hope Solo

’, the film will be largely shot in Kashmir. The makers of the film plan to shoot more than half the project in the valley while saving a portion to be filmed in Mumbai since she had also travelled to the city after an incident that put the spotlight on her.

After ‘Mubarakan’ last year, Athiya has been busy preparing for the role. She has been undergoing a lot of physical training. Afshan, recognised for putting together a team of women footballers and training them, was drawn into a controversy when she was tagged as a stone-pelter in Kashmir with a photo of her going viral. ‘Hope Solo’, to be directed by Rajkumar Santoshi's former assistant Manish Harishankar, revolves around Afshan's struggles, with the theme of women empowerment at the core.

“Suniel Shetty, Athiya’s father, has been taking keen interest in the film all along. As a sports enthusiast, he’s very happy that his daughter, who looks like a splitting image of Afshan, will play a strong sportsperson on screen. Athiya, in the meanwhile, has been very regular with her training,” says a source close to the film, adding, “Afshan might soon get involved in the training process to help Athiya get her body language and other nuances right. Athiya has also been trying to pick up the leheza and the local dialect spoken in Kashmir. Athiya has a fit body, so she has picked up football really well although the film is more of an emotional journey of fighting the odds in the system than a mere sports drama or a biopic.”

'Hope Solo' has been written by Saiwin Quadras, credited for films like ‘Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran’, ‘

Neerja

’ and ‘Mary Kom’.