It is a season of biopics in Bollywood and the next personality to be immortalised on the celluloid is former badminton player and chief national coach of the Indian Badminton team, Pullela Gopichand.
Fox Star Studios in collaboration with Abundantia Entertainment is preseting a film on Gopichand's life. The announcement coincides with Gopichand's 44th birthday.
The movie, a bilingual biopic in Hindi and Telugu will narrate the shuttler's journey—on and off the court.
Talking about the biopic, Gopichand said it is a proud moment for him to share his story through a film.
"Badminton is at an inflection point in our country and nothing delights me more than to see the rapidly growing interest for the sport, especially with the youth...
"We can encourage more and more people to pursue their dreams. I am excited with the developments on the film and look forward to Vikram and Fox Star taking this film to the masses," said the Padma Shri awardee.
Interestingly, biopics on students from Gopichand's badminton academy in Hyderabad—Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu—are already in works.
Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios, said Gopichand's life is an inspirational story.
"It is the story of a man who not only was an outstanding player but went onto coach the new generation of players and has changed the face of badminton sport and has taken it to its current heights."
Vikram Malhotra, CEO, Abundantia Entertainment, said the team was excited with the way the biopic was taking shape.
"It is a huge responsibility for us to bring the Pullela Gopichand story to the big screen and to share this rare tale with audiences all over the world. I am also delighted to have Fox Star join in on this journey and together we are committed to give our best..."
The scripting of the film is underway and the shoot will commence in mid-2018.
