Director Amit Sharma, whose last directorial Badhaai Ho has already crossed the coveted Rs 100-crore mark, is all set to helm a biopic on football legend Syed Abdul Rahim with Ajay Devgn playing the lead role. For the unversed, Rahim was the Indian football team’s coach and manager from 1950-1963 and hence, the film will shed light on the "golden era of football spanning from 1952 to 1962."
Confirming that the much-awaited film will go on floors by mid-2019, Amit told a leading daily, "Making a biopic and a sports filmwas always on my wish-list and with this film, both genres have come together beautifully. I was busy with the post-production of Badhaai Ho when Boneyji (Kapoor, producer) called to discuss the subject. When he offered me the film, I leapt at the opportunity. Ajay is also really excited about playing Rahim saab."
As part of his prep for the film, the director recently met "Tuslidas Balaram, known as India’s Pele, and Fortunato Franco to get an insight into their time with Rahim Saab." He also shared a few photos on social media as he heard "unbelievable true stories" of the legendary football coach, who led India win a historic gold medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta in 1962.
https://twitter.com/iAmitRSharma/status/1060516160482041856
Meanwhile, talking about Ajay, Amit said that the actor will start his training a month before shooting commences next year. Although Ajay won’t be playing a lot of football in the film as he is the coach, Amit claimed that he is fond of the sport. Interestingly, the film also marks the director's reunion with producer Boney Kapoor, who had produced his 2015 action-drama Tevar.
