The sports biopic goes faster, higher, stronger

Two releases, nine on track to the finish line by 2019 – sport was everyone’s favourite subject in cinema this year. In the coming months, almost every other biopic will be a sports film! Here’s why you’ll see a lot more sweat and blood on the big screen.
The year 2018 saw eight biopics hit the screens. From a controversial writer in pre-Partition India and a movie star, to a crusader against menstrual taboos, there was no common theme in the films, except for two – both 'Soorma' and 'Gold' were films based on hockey.One told the story of Sandeep Singh, who fought bullet wounds to stage a miraculous comeback, and the other told the legendary tale of independent India’s first Olympic gold. Although sports biopics have been around for over a decade – 'Chak De! India' set the ball rolling – 2018 was the year that really hit the ball out of the park. Apart from the two releases, the year saw over a dozen announcements of films on past Olympic champions, current sporting sensations, and even forgotten glory tales from Indian sport.
Amitabh Bachchan shoots for 'Jhund' at a Nagpur school. It is based on football coach Vijay Barse (below)

Over the next twelve months, at least nine sports biopics are up for release, which constitute almost 40% of the total biopics being made in Hindi. And you can’t fault the makers. All the sports biopics made over the last five years have recovered their cost in box office sales. Add to it satellite rights and other earnings, and making a sports biopic seems to be a sure shot money-earner. So what makes these movies tick? Screenwriter Prasoon Joshi, who wrote 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', says, “When I was researching for the film, I met Milkha Singh ji and interacted with him. As I was leaving, I heard him say to someone else, “Iss aadmi ko sports mein koi interest nahi. Bas personal sawaal pooch raha tha.” And that is true. For me, Milkha Singh’s story is not a story of sports but one of struggle. That’s what sports films give us- the underdogs, the winners who emerge from struggle, which is a universal theme. That’s why they work.”

Boxing champion Dingko Singh will be played by Shahid Kapoor in his biopic
It’s no secret that the real money in sports when it comes to India is in cricket- men’s cricket to be precise. According to Forbes, seven out of the top 10 highest-earning Indian sportspersons in 2017 were male cricketers. Curiously enough though, when it comes to cinema, cricket movies are not among the top-earners. The highest-grossing sports movies of India are usually based on female sportspersons from small towns in less-than-glamorous sports. 'Dangal' earned Rs2,000 crore as opposed to the Rs216 crore run of MS Dhoni’s biopic. Mary Kom’s biopic earned more than the biopics of Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin, neither of which crossed the Rs100-crore mark at the box office. “In the last few years, even as sports viewers, we have been moving away from just cricket. With the badminton, kabaddi, and all other leagues coming up, the audience today is exposed to more sports and more stories from those sports. What we look for are unknown stories and that we get from other sports. The more unknown the story, the greater the intrigue. Ab Sachin ki life ke baare mein toh humein sab pata hi hai. From childhood, we have grown up tabulating each incident, each run, and each record of his. This is where the newer stories and achievers from relatively less popular sports come in,” says writer Saiwyn Quadras, who wrote 'Mary Kom', and is currently writing a script on the Indian football team’s win at the 1962 Asian Games.
Ajay Devgn will play football coach Syed Abdul Rahim in a film on the 1962 Asian Games-winning side
Dangal', based on the Phogat sisters, is the highest-grossing Indian sports biopic
Actors say that despite the extensive training and preparation, the thrill of playing a sportsperson and getting a peek into an achiever’s mind is what attracts them to this genre. Speaking to DT earlier this year, Shraddha Kapoor, who plays badminton champion Saina Nehwal in her next, had said, “There is so much training that goes into it, there is a lot of hard work that goes into it. It is extensive prep, it is extremely demanding but I am very excited to play it. I held her Olympic medal in my hand, that is one heavy medal. It must have been such a terrific feeling to win that medal. It was a surreal moment for me to hold that medal.”
Many in the industry say it’s a welcome trend, since cinema can use its wide reach to highlight more stories of sports that are relatively unknown to audiences. Akshay Kumar, who played a hockey coach in 'Gold', says, “Sports films can make a lot of difference. Cinema has the power to bring about change. Sports films can go a long way in creating sports culture in the country. Films like 'Dangal', 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', etc. told people in India that there are other sports in the country apart from cricket; other sportspersons we can be proud of. And cinema needs to keep doing that.”
Sangram Singh will play India’s first individual Olympic medallist KD Jadhav