Upen Patel may play Narain Karthikeyan; ace F1 driver's biopic to be bankrolled by 2.0 producers

Seeing the current trend in Bollywood, biopics seem to be the formula for success. Adding to the list of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Mary Kom and Dangal, another one based on India’s first Formula One driver, Narain Karthikeyan. According to a report published by Times Of India, the producers of the film approached Upen Patel for the F1 driver’s role. [caption id=“attachment_4722501” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Upen Patel. Screenshot from YouTube.[/caption] The report claims that Narain Karthikeyan and a Chennai-based production house associated with some of South India’s most popular stars, including Mani Ratnam, Rajinikanth, and Kamal Haasan were in talks for the same and a deal was finalized recently. It has also been mentioned that one of their anonymous sources said, “The makers met Upen while he was shooting for Boomerang in Chennai a few weeks ago. Since he is quite fond of sports cars, the actor was quite excited about being a part of the film. However, he is yet to sign on the dotted lines.” Their source adds, “The film will primarily be in Hindi, though the makers are toying with the idea of making it in Tamil as well. It is expected to be directed by a south filmmaker. An official announcement will be made by the end of this month.” In another report by Times of India it is mentioned that the film may be backed by the maker of Rajinikanth’s 2.0, Subaskaran Allirajah. Upen also confirmed the news and said, “I was approached to play the role of Narain Karthikeyan in the biopic, but I haven’t even read the script yet. I haven’t made up my mind and will take a final call on the basis of the script.”