Ever since the biopic on the revolutionary Indian mathematician Anand Kumar got planned, it has been making news. After the initial hiccups between the film’s producers (Preeti Sinha, and Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Films) over the film’s leading man, it was Hrithik Roshan who won over Akshay Kumar and got finalized to play the lead in Super 30, the Bollywood biopic that mirrors the life and work of Anand.
Hrithik Roshan was unavailable to comment on Anand being honoured with the Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award on Children’s Day by President Ramnath Kovind for his contribution in the field of education, but the actor’s father and producer-director Rakesh Roshan told Peeping Moon.com. “It’s a well-deserved recognition. His contribution in his field is unparalleled”.
Rakesh is pleased that Hrithik is being prepped for his role in the biopic to be directed by Vikas Bahl by none other than the mathematics genius himself. Anand, who is keen on being kept in the loop about everything to do with Super 30, was satisfied that while Hrithik looked nothing like him, the actor was immensely capable of encapsulating the spirit of his character perfectly. Much in the same manner that actor Dev Patel did justice to the character of the earlier Indian mathematical wizard Srinivasa Ramanujan in the 2016 Hollywood biopic The Man Who Knew Infinity.
Super 30 will go on the floors this December and is slated for release in November 2018. Even before it started, producer Preeti Sinha walked out of the project because “Super 30 did not make commercial sense anymore” and didn’t mind Anand Kumar putting his life story on celluloid with whoever he pleased. There were reports that Hrithik had also walked out of the project over creative differences. It was said that the actor, guided by his father Rakesh Roshan, had insisted on changes in the screenplay as they both felt Super 30 was too documentary-like in its treatment.
However, the film now appears set to roll. Anand Kumar is the brain behind the revolutionary ‘Super 30’ initiative under which 30 underprivileged but smart students get selected and trained by him to crack the prestigious Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission to engineering colleges like the NIT and IIT. He even takes care of their study materials and food. The female lead for the film opposite Hrithik has not yet been decided. The producers have said that the biopic is basically on Anand Kumar and his Super 30 students and the heroine will have to be cast accordingly.
