Dhoni, Milkha Singh, Mary Kom: How Much Did Sports Personalities Charge For Biopics?

The era of sports biopic in Bollywood is here. For the past few years, there have been many sports biopic made in the Hindi Film industry. It is not just a biopic on sports personalities but also politicians and other heroes of the country. One after the other, there is a flood of biopics in Bollywood right now. The reason for this is that the filmmakers have seen a connection that the audience has with real-life stories.

It has always been like this. Real-life stories spark a different emotion in the viewers. They connect to the story and feel the emotions that the real person might have felt. Biopic, based on a true event, real war stories are always special. But the filmmakers now have probably taken this formula way too seriously.

Looking at the success of films like MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Mary Kom, Dangal, and others, it is safe to say that this trend of sports biopic isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. But as the movies are based on real-life persons, the filmmakers have to pay the personality a certain amount in order to share their story.

Here are some of the most famous Bollywood sports biopics and what the personalities were paid for it.

1. Milkha Singh – Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

This legendary sprinter charged nothing but Re 1 for his biopic. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said in a statement that they wanted to honour Milkhaji and gave him a special Rs 1 currency note that was printed in 1958. It was said that he was later paid Rs 45 crores but nothing has been confirmed.

2. MS Dhoni – MS Dhoni: The Untold Story

Sushant Singh Rajput starred in this sports biopic based on cricketer MS Dhoni. It was a huge success at the box office and was loved by most of Dhoni’s fans. Rumours and reports suggest that the sports star was paid Rs 45 crores for sharing his story.

3. Mary Kom – Mary Kom

The film on boxer Mary Kom was released in 2014. Priyanka Chopra was in the lead role with Darshan Kumar and Sunil Thapa in supporting roles. The movie takes us through the struggles that the boxer faced and her journey to the 2008 World Boxing Championships in Ningbo. Reportedly, she was paid Rs 25 lakhs for this biopic.

4. Mahavir Singh Phogat – Dangal

Aamir Khan led Dangal earned really well at the box office. It was one of the highest-grossing films that year. The movie was based on the lives of Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters Geeta and Babita. According to the news, the former wrestler was paid Rs 80 Lakhs to share his story.