Six actors who are set to play sportsperson on screen: Happy National Sports Day

Sports films have been the lingering trend in Bollywood for the part few years. Since 2012, the industry has shifted its focus to potent sports dramas be it Mary Kom, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag or last year’s much lauded outings - Soorma  and Gold. Being box office success stories, makers are always keen to take the audience through the lives of sports stars investing heavily in universe of trials, tribulations and thrill of the game.

On National Sports Day, here’s looking at actors who are dabbling in sports for their upcoming feature films. 

Richa Chadda in the film Panga: Though familiar with the sport, Richa had to revisit it all over again for her part in the Ashwiny Iyer Tiwary directorial. After training in Mumbai with state level players and coaches, the actress even travelled to towns like Raipur and Ranchi to meet local players. From gaining insight to knowing the sport, she went through an entire gamut including finding women Kabbadi players to spend time with to learn about the life whilst living the sport.

Angad Bedi in The Zoya Factor: As Robin Rawal, the superstar of the team, Angad Bedi had the cumbersome task ahead of him - to look authentic. Though the son of Bishan Singh Bedi and a cricketer himself in his early life, Angad wanted to not allow any gimmicks to seep into his role. The actor had to go back to the basic to learn new tropes for the film’s cricket sequences as he roped in Ranji trophy coach to help him learn for the part. The actor went through months of rigorous training to ensure that he has perfected his role to the tee. 

Ajay Devgn in Maidaan: Ajay Devgn is not a football player in real life but the actor decided to take up football lessons, even though the film doesn’t require him to actually play the game. Amit Sharma’s film based on Indian football legend Syed Abdul Rahim, will see Devgn as a football coach and he wanted to know the universe well enough to carry an entire film on his shoulders.

Ranveer Singh in 83: As Kapil Dev, the Indian skipper who brought home India’s maiden cricket world cup, Ranveer Singh soaked himself in every shade of the legend. Headlining a team of underdogs, taking them to imminent victory , Ranveer has learnt every facet of the game replicating Kapil’s bowling style to his shots by living with him in Delhi and then meeting him again at the bootcamp in Mohali. 

Parineeti in Saina: After Shraddha Kapoor bowed out of the film, Parineeti Chopra took it upon herself to ace the part. After toiling for months, the actress will finally meet Saina herself for a final round of perfecting the moves before the film goes on floors in October. The actress has been working out even while in London to ensure her agility isn’t compromised and she is in top of her game when she starts shoot.

John Abhraham in The Isle of Man: John Abraham took his love for bikes to the next level when he announced his next silver screen project with director Rensil D’silva. Being passionate motorbikes, the actor is already practicing the game in Bennetts Trackday Brands Hatch in The Isle of Man, UK.