A few months ago, it was reported that the digital arm of Balaji Telefilms was planning a biopic based on former skipper Sourav Ganguly’s book A Century is not Enough. Co-authored by the cricketer himself, the book chronicles his unforgettable journey from Kolkata’s Biren Roy Road to the Indian Premier League.
Asked whether his biopic was in the pipeline the cricketer refused to divulge details merely confirming that he had been approached. “Ekta Kapoor approached me and we talked about it once. Nothing went further than that. I have never thought of a biopic though there are a host of sports biopics being made. If there is time, then someone will make one on me. Hope people would be interested in seeing the film,” Ganguly replied.
The 46-year-old cricketer has however watched a couple of films on his former teammates. “I liked the Dhoni biopic. Tendulkar’s biopic (Sachin A Billion Dreams) was a little different. Now we have a film on the 1983 World Cup winning team. That will be huge and I will definitely watch it. As far as my biopic is concerned, we will wait and see,” he added.
The former captain was in Mumbai to launch the trailer of 22 Yards, helmed by Mitali Ghoshal whose association with the cricketer goes back to her journalism days. She had earlier made The Warrior Prince, a docu-feature on Ganguly that was narrated by Amitabh Bachchan. “I remember Mitali’s first interview with me and her first question was why I wasn’t able to score a century yet again in that particular match,” he laughed. Adding a word of appreciation for the cast and crew, he said, “I have seen all of them come over to Kolkata and shoot the film passionately.”
The next obvious question was on Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul’s misogynistic comments on the TV show, Koffee with Karan. The duo has been suspended and recalled from Australia after their controversial comments and actions faced severe censure.
“I haven’t watched the episode. I only watch Comedy Nights with Kapil,” Ganguly retorted. He went on to defend them saying “people make mistakes” but everyone should move on and ensure it doesn’t happen again. We are all human beings. We are not machines that everything you put in comes out perfect. You have just got to live life and let others live. They are responsible people. They may be role models but they are under pressure all the time to perform.”
When quizzed on whether the players of this generation were not responsible in their behavior in comparison to the cricketers of his time, Ganguly disagreed and was quick to cite the example of Virat Kohli.
“Virat Kohli is such a fantastic role model. We are fortunate that our country produces such great cricketers. When Gavaskar came, we wondered who’s going to be next and then came Tendulkar. After his innings, came Virat Kohli,” he said and added, “A lot of cricketers come from a middle-class background and are very good human beings also. Imagine 11 players being selected to play out of those millions who may have come forward to be selected. To be picked amongst those for the National team and play for 15-16 years is absolutely special. So, if you do not score, somebody else comes in. That’s what life is all about so they are very humble. I know most of them personally and I know they are great guys,” he concluded.
