Sport films: All work and no pay?

Salman Khan has made news for all the hard work he put in for his upcoming film Sultan (on wrestling). He had to weigh 97 kg, had rigorous workouts and barely slept. And if trade pundits’ predictions are right, the film will rake in hundreds of crores.

But Sultan is just one of the many films that are being made on the sports community. There is Dangal, starring Aamir Khan that also deals with wrestling — previously there were Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Mary Kom and the iconic Chak De! India. Even our K’town has been catching up with this trend. While Irudhi Suttru (kick boxing) went on to be a major hit, several other films including Eetti (athletics), Vallinam (basketball) and Bhooloham (boxing) talked about less popular sports.

But, while these films went on to rake in the moolah, what remains unchanged is the situation — lack of funding and opportunities — of these sports communities. Take athletics as an example — apart from spending money for training, athletes also require to spend a lot to keep their body in shape. R. Natarajan, former sprinter who won the 100m and 200m   dashes on the national level events, for nine consecutive years, says, “Though movies like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Irudhi Suttru act as encouragement for the future generation  who wish to take up sport as their profession, it’s true that sporting communities languish as there are no funding opportunities. These films have no impact on the sporting system.” He adds, “Take Mary Kom for instance — the money which Priyanka Chopra earned for the film would probably be more than what Mary Kom earned in her whole professional career! I feel that filmmakers should share a little percentage of what they’ve earned with respective sporting communities.”

Mettu Shiva Krishna, a Hyderabad-based 17-time state champion in wresting, feels that even a  little bit of monetary help  by sports filmmakers would benefit thousands of wrestlers. “It takes a minimum of 10-15 years to become a proper wrestler, but where is the money for that? A few of us work to raise this money, but for the others it is difficult. Most of the wrestlers are poor and struggling. Hence, as an individual wrestling community, we pool in money and try to help, but there are a lot of things beyond us,” he opines. This is where, according to Shiva, the community is losing out. “When movies take inspiration from us and make lots of money, why then can’t they help? Even if they raise funds for one akhara, it will help so many wrestlers.”

While the sports community does feel that more help can be extended, directors who’ve worked on these plots feel they are doing their bit, even if it doesn’t involve money. “Everyone makes money in any kind of business. It’s not that I have made Mary Kom only to make money. My donations to the community have been by making films like Mary Kom and Sarbjit. This is my way of raising awareness. I have done my job, now people will discuss this and take a step ahead in helping out,” says Omung Kumar, director of Mary Kom.

V. Devarajan, a former pugilist, who was the first Indian to win a medal outside India, is also of the same point of view — “Recent sport films are doing the best they can to inspire and motivate people. You can’t ask for more. We’ve to blame it on the system rather than the filmmakers.” The boxer, who also featured in a cameo appearance in Irudhi Suttru, adds, “I’ve seen the effort of director Sudha Kongara closely. Apart from me, she also consulted several experts to make the film authentic. Ever since the movie released, lots of people have been approaching me to teach boxing! That’s the power of cinema,” he concludes.

(With inputs from Lipika Varma)