Ronnie Screwvala, Abhishek Chaubey announce biopic on hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand

Producer Ronnie Screwvala and director Abhishek Chaubey have reunited for the biopic on hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. The film will be co-produced by Premnath Rajagopalan. The filmmakers are yet to finalise the cast.

Ronnie Screwvala took to Twitter to post the announcement.

1500+ goals, 3 Olympic gold medals, and a story of India’s pride...

It gives us immense pleasure to announce our next with #AbhishekChaubey - a biopic on the Hockey Wizard of India- #DHYANCHAND@RSVPMovies @prem_rajgo @pashanjal @realroark #SupratikSen @bluemonkey_film pic.twitter.com/hPbf8wrDVp

— Ronnie Screwvala (@RonnieScrewvala) December 15, 2020

According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the shooting of Dhyan Chand biopic will commence from 2021 and the film is expected to release in 2022.

HOCKEY LEGEND #DHYANCHAND BIOPIC ANNOUNCED... Producer Ronnie Screwvala and director Abhishek Chaubey reunite, after #Sonchiriya... Announce a film on #Hockey legend #DhyanChand... Co-produced by Premnath Rajagopalan... Star cast under finalisation... Starts 2021... 2022 release. pic.twitter.com/E438gIHSdz

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 15, 2020

Screwvala and Chaubey had earlier worked together for 2019 film Sonchiriya that starred Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey and Ashutosh Rana.

“Dhyan Chand is one of the greatest hockey players in the history of our national sport, and it’s a matter of pride to direct his biopic. We had a massive amount of research material in hand, and honestly, every achievement of his life deserves a separate story in itself.

“I am grateful to have a brilliant creative force like Ronnie Screwvala backing the film, and we can’t wait to get started next year. Hoping to announce the lead actor soon,” Chaubey said in a statement.

Screwvala, who has previously produced films like Rang De Basanti, Swades and Uri: The Surgical Strike, said Chaubey is the best choice to chronicle the greatness of Dhyan Chand’s achievements.

“It’s an absolute pleasure to collaborate with him again after Sonchiriya. Dhyan Chand is the biggest icon of Indian sports who unfortunately the youth of today don’t know much about. There couldn’t have been a greater underdog story than Dhyan Chand’s and I can’t wait to bring this film to the audiences,” he added.

Dhyan Chand is regarded as the greatest player in the history of hockey, who earned three Olympic gold medals in 1928 (Amsterdam), 1932 (Los Angeles) and 1936 (Berlin) for India. He was also awarded India’s third-highest civilian honour, Padma Bhushan.

(With inputs from Press Trust of India)