Filmmaker Amole Gupte, who is all set to make a biopic on badminton player Saina Nehwal, vouched for Shraddha Kapoor’s hard work. Gupte said that Kapoor has been undergoing some intensive training sessions in badminton before the film goes on floors this year.
“She is currently going through an intensive regimen with Jitesh Padukone (former badminton player) and is practically transforming herself into Nehwal. She is committed. Playing Nehwal will not be easy, so I want Shraddha to be ready before we start rolling,” he told Mid-Day.
The film will trace Nehwal’s journey to becoming the number one player in the world. Gupte admits to spending a lot of time with her before deciding to make the film in order to make the film look more real.
“Since my film also portrays the life of her family before her birth, I had to meet her parents [Harvir Singh and Usha Rani]. I also spent time with her coach Pullela Gopichand, and her friends,” he said.
The film is yet to be titled but the filmmaker jokingly said that he might use a phrase she often uses as the title. “Before she goes for the match, she says, ‘Mujhe jaana hai aur maarna hai, (I have to go and hit)’ or, ‘Usko maar dungi‘ (I will hit her).”
The biopic was announced in April this year, with Kapoor stating that the film will chronicle the story of the player’s rise to becoming India’s first winner of an Olympic badminton medal, a bronze in London five years ago. Incidentally, when asked who she would like to play her on screen, Nehwal felt Deepika Padukone would be perfect.
Recommended
“Her father has been a badminton player and I have seen her playing badminton. She used to play really well. She can do justice to the role and I really wish she can do the role,” she told PTI early this year.
Kapoor, meanwhile, has another biopic in the pipeline. Playing the titular character, Kapoor’s Haseena Parkar will release next month.