Badminton player and coach Gopichand Pullela has refused to sign the No Objection Certificate for the Telugu film adaptation of his life story. Changes to the script have been cited as the reason for this. Until he signs the NOC, producers cannot start the film’s pre-production. It was recently announced that Praveen Sattaru is going to direct the film and Sudheer Babu will be playing the part of Gopichand.
A source told Deccan Chronicle, “The idea for a biopic on Gopichand has been there for quite a few years but once P.V. Sindhu won the Olympic medal, it gained momentum. They made a few changes in the original script wherein they wanted to add an episode on Sindhu’s historic win in the second half. Gopichand didn’t like the changes that were being suggested, he asked the filmmakers to keep the Sindhu-win as just a passing mention and not more. But the filmmakers felt Sindhu could be the selling point of the film. The discussions are in a deadlock now.”
Praveen Sattaru has earlier directed Guntur Talkies (2015) and Chandamama Kathaalu (2014) which won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu.
Gopichand Pullela is a former Indian badminton player. Presently, he is the Chief National Coach for the Indian Badminton team. His academy has produced several successful Badminton players including Saina Nehwal, who won the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, and PV Sindhu who won the Silver medal at 2016 Rio Olympics.
Feature image source : oneindia.com