PV Sindhu with Pullela Gopishand. Image Courtesy: Instagram
Joining the frenzy of biopics is now a film inspired from badminton coach and ex-player Pullela Gopichand, who has trained aces like PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and most recently, Srikanth Kidambi. A Hindi-Telugu bilingual, the biopic will be produced by Vikram Malhotra whose production house Abundantia Entertainment has made films like ‘Airlift’ and ‘Baby’. The makers are on the lookout for an actor who will be a perfect combination of being a badminton player and acting, to play the chief national coach of the Indian badminton team.
Pullela Gopichand is the second Indian after Prakash Padukone to win the All England Open Badminton Championship in 2001. Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad has shaped the careers of many badminton aces like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu. The legendary coach has a long list of laurels which includes Arjuna Award (1999), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2001), Padma Shri (2005), Dronacharya Award (2009) and even a Padma Bhushan (2014).
For the biopics other than the one on Pullela Gopichand, Sonu Sood is making a real-life story on PV Sindhu while Shraddha Kapoor has been roped in for a film on Saina Nehwal. In all likelihood, the biopic of Pullela Gopichand will be directed by Indo-American filmmaker Praveen Sattaru.
