Bollywood turns to sports biopics for box office success, latest release Soorma grabs Rs 16cr

For many filmmakers, the lives of famous sports personalities are an inspiration for their silver screen projects. Bollywood has become home to plenty of sports biopics, with 2018 contributing two such films from this genre.

While Diljit Dosanjh and Taapsee Pannu-starrer Soorma has hit theatres on July 13, August 15 will see the release of Gold, starring Akshay Kumar.

Soorma, based on the life of hockey player Sandeep Singh, has enjoyed a decent run at the box office with collections in the range of Rs 15.85 crore. The film opened to earnings of Rs 3.20 crore and gathered steam over the weekend with over Rs 10 crore in the next two days. It continues to hold well over the weekday with collections to the tune of Rs 2 crore.

With sports biopics gaining momentum in Bollywood, more and more stories of sports personalities are finding their way on to the big screen.

Few biopics on the cards include:

> Amol Gupte will try his hand at making a biopic starring Shraddha Kapoor on the life of ace badminton player Saina Nehwal. The project will go on floors later this year.

> Two other badminton stars have caught Bollywood’s attention. Fox Star Studios, along with Vikram Malhotra’s Abundantia Entertainment, have announced a film on the life of Pullela Gopichand.

> Reports suggest that actor Sonu Sood is producing a film on PV Sindhu.

> The memorable 1983 cricket World Cup will come alive on the big screen in Kabir Khan’s directorial, which will release on April 10, 2020.

> Viacom18 Motion Pictures have shown interest in telling the tale of another sportsperson from the cricketing world, Mithali Raj, captain of the Indian women’s cricket team.

Other such projects include biopic on hockey player Dhyan Chand, legendary athlete PT Usha, shooter Abhinav Bindra and Paralympic gold medalist Murlikant Petkar.

But why is Bollywood investing in such stories?

A look at the past performance of sports biopics shows that filmmakers have struck gold by telling tales of legendary sportspersons.

The movie that tops the list is Dangal; it set a new benchmark for Indian films, both in domestic and international business. Based on the lives of the Phogat sisters, who Dangal-ed their way to become world-class wrestlers, earned Rs 2,000 crore.

When ace cricketer MS Dhoni’s life unfurled on the big screen in MS Dhoni: An Untold Story, it did business worth Rs 157.32 crore in India alone.

A documentary on Sachin Tendulkar, Sachin: A Billion Dreams, did not disappoint either and grabbed Rs 50.89 crore.

Olympic boxing champion Mary Kom’s biopic starring Priyanka Chopra stood strong at the box office and raked in Rs 73.72 crore.

Other films like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Azhar and Paan Singh Tomar minted Rs 140.86 crore, Rs 42.73 crore and Rs 19.68 crore respectively.