Chak de again, SRK as Dhyan Chand!

For a long time, sport was neglected by Bollywood. India didn’t have big enough heroes and they certainly didn’t have directors who could actually infuse the movies with the emotion that makes a sports movie so special.

With few cricket-centric movies scoring big — Lagaan and Iqbal being the exceptions — at the box office, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak de India not only broke records but also won accolades in 2007. It was also probably India’s first introduction to a true blue sports movie — where sport was the only focus. No romance, just hard work, tears and sweat.

And now, with India mulling over conferring a Bharat Ratna to the hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, B-town has been charmed by the exploits of this ‘one man army’ who led India to Olympic glory.

Media reports claim that several biopics are being contemplated on the life of India’s greatest hockey player. In fact, Hindustan Times reported that Shah Rukh Khan is likely to portray Dhyan Chand’s character in one such film.

Shah Rukh confirmed the news, says “Yes, I have been approached for a movie based on the legendary Dhyan Chandji’s life. Hockey, as a sport, isn’t new to me since I have been an athlete throughout my school and college life, and I’ve especially played a lot of hockey.” In fact, few know that SRK during his school days also captained the hockey team.

However, the details of Shah Rukh’s project are still under the wraps, while a couple of other biopics on Dhyan Chand are already underway.

Sources claim that Dhyan Chand’s son Ashok Kumar has been approached by Manmohan Shetty of Walkwater Media and actor-director Satyajeet Puri regarding films on the hockey wizard’s life.

While Walkwater Media has dismissed the claim as “floating rumours,” Puri affirms that he is keen on making a biopic on the hockey player.

“Yes, I am going to make a biopic. And it’s not like I have planned it after the success of Paan Singh Tomar or The Dirty Picture. I have been working on it for the past two years. Chand was a one-man army. My film will be a tribute to all the hockey players who still play a sport that could have been dead a long time ago in our country” he said.

With movies like Paan Singh Tomar and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag looking to raise the profile of sports in India, the Dhyan Chand Project will be another step in the right direction.

https://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/chak-de-again-srk-as-dhyan-chand-269865.html