Bollywood is obsessed with cricket. From Iqbal to Kai Po Che, Lagan to biopics like M S Dhoni – film makers are always up for cricket based movies. However there are also some movies which are based on other sports. Here is a list of movies for all sports enthusiasts.
Dangal (2017)Dangal, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, stars Aamir Khan as Mahavir Singh Phogat, an amateur wrestler, who trains his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari to be world-class wrestlers, both of whom go on to win medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra play the older selves of the sisters, while Sakshi Tanwar play their mother and Aparshakti Khurana, their cousin. According to the latest reports, Dangal has earned Rs1,756 crores worldwide.
Besides Aamir Khan, Dangal starred Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Zaira Wasim, Sakshi Tanwar and Aparshakti Khurrana in the lead roles. The film was acclaimed by critics almost unanimously and saw innumerable people flocking to the theatres to catch a show.
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992)Mansoor Khan’s sports drama was the story of several high-school students vying for a cycling competition, juxtaposed with a love story. Sanju (Aamir Khan) is Ratan’s younger brother and is everything that Ratan is not. He’s a carefree youngster who is full of himself and is always in trouble with his father Ramlal (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), who wants him to act more maturely and become responsible like Ratan. The Aamir Khan-starrer made Rs3.30 crores at the box office.
Sultan (2016)Sultan Ali Khan (Salman Khan) is a middle-aged ex-wrestling champion, who lives a mediocre and lonely life in a small town in Haryana. Aakash Oberoi (Amit Sadh), the founder of a private mixed martial arts league, is encouraged by his father to hire an Indian wrestler to salvage the league’s popularity. Sultan is directed by Ali Abbas Zafar. Produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films banner, the film stars Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles.
Mary Kom (2014)The biographical film directed by Omung Kumar saw Priyanka Chopra essay the role of the eponymous boxer, while Darshan Kumar and Sunil Thapa played supporting characters. The film won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment honour at the 62nd National Film Awards and made Rs56 crores at the box office.
Hawaa Hawaai (2014)Amole Gupte (of Taare Zameen Par) directed the film starring his son Partho and Saqib Saleem, which was about an underprivileged child’s dream to skate. It made Rs10.42 crores in box office collections.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)The film starring Farhan Akhtar was based on the life and struggles of legendary athlete Milkha Singh, and was directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. It won Akhtar several best actor awards that year and earned nearly Rs109 crores at the box office.
Breakaway (2011)Breakaway, or Speedy Singhs (the Hindi version of the movie), is the story of Rajveer Singh (Vinay Virmani), a young and dedicated teenager who gave up college due to his lack of interest. Rajveer and his father Darvesh had never gotten along. Rajveer meets up with his friends, and when they get time, they play hockey. One day, while practising hockey, a few players on the Hammerheads insult the Singhs, and Rajveer and his friends beat the other players at hockey. Realising how good they are, Rajveer decides to make a hockey team with his friends.
Brothers (2015)Filmmaker Karan Malhotra directed actors Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra in the official remake of the 2011 film Warrior, an action drama based on mixed martial arts. Also starring Jacqueline Fernandez, Jackie Shroff and Shefali Shah, the film earned Rs82 crores in box office collections.
Saala Khadoos (2016)R Madhavan played coach to newcomer and real-life boxer, Ritika Singh, in director Sudha Kongara’s sports drama. An under-fire boxing coach, Prabhu is transferred from Hisar in Haryana to Chennai, as his bosses at the Boxing Council do not like his disrespectful, rule-breaking and unconventional ways. In Chennai, he chances upon the raw fighting talent of Madhi, the sibling of aspiring boxer Lakshmi. Simultaneously made in Tamil as Irudhi Suttru, the film was co-produced by Rajkumar Hirani, and made Rs14 crores at the box office.
Striker (2010)Striker was a crime thriller revolving around the life of a ghetto-born carom champion. Directed by Chandan Arora, it made Rs84 lakhs in box office collections.
Chak De India (2007)Shimit Amin’s film saw actor Shah Rukh Khan play coach to a women’s hockey team and take them to international glory, inspired by the team’s real-life win at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment that year and made Rs35 crores at the box office.
Apne (2007)Directed by Anil Sharma, this is the first and one of the three films to feature real life father and sons Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol together. Sunny and Bobby had worked together before in Dillagi and Dharmendra and Sunny had also appeared together in Sultanat (1986) and Kshatriya (1993). Kirron Kher, Shilpa Shetty and Katrina Kaif play the female leads. The film opened to an excellent response across India and emerged as a hit overseas as well.
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (2007)The film, starring John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani, was based on the fictional story of the south Asian community’s struggle to play professional football in the UK. Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, it made Rs15 crores at the box office.
My Brother…Nikhil (2005)One of Bollywood’s earliest takes on homosexuality, director Onir’s film was the story of an AIDS-afflicted, state-level swimming champion played by Sanjay Suri. The critically acclaimed feature only made Rs1.20 crore at the box office.
Bend it Like Beckham (2002)Bend It Like Beckham is a comedy-drama film starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Anupam Kher, Shaznay Lewis, and Archie Panjabi, first released in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha. Its title refers to the football player David Beckham and his skill at scoring from free kicks by bending the ball past a wall of defenders.
