Deepa Malik biopic: Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment to produce film on Arjuna awardee

Indian athelete and paralympic champion Deepa Malik’s story is indeed one of the most influential ones in the field of sports. Farhan Akhtar, who brought alive the life and journey of athelete Milkha Singh (‘The Flying Sikh’) in his 2013 blockbuster Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, is all set to make a biopic on Malik. He along with his friend and business partner Ritesh Sidhwani are reportedly going to produce the film, according to a Mumbai Mirror report. [caption id=“attachment_3853269” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Farhan Malik and Deepa Malik. Images via Facebook[/caption] Here’s a short glimpse of Malik’s glorious journey — She is India’s first and only woman ever to win a medal at the Paralympic Games. She has won 54 national gold medals and 13 at the international level in swimming, shot put and javelin throw. After she was detected with a tumour in her spinal column, she underwent a surgery and developed paralysis that made her body inactive chest down. Undeterred by these shortcomings, she has brought laurels to herself and the country. She was awarded with the Arjuna Award in 2012 and a Padma Shri in 2017. According to the Mumbai Mirror report, Ritesh Sidhwani met the Paralaympic champion and discussed the project after she narrated her whole journey. Sidhwani told Mirror, “I had watched videos of her and knew that her life story was unreal, but when I met her and she let me hold her medal, the sheer weight of the silver gave me gooseflesh. As she sat in front of me, there was nothing differently-abled about her. She was empowering, a pillar of strength, and I knew that we needed to take her fight to the big screen.” The casting for the film is yet to be finalised, and the filming is scheduled to start early next year.