Sonchiriya maker Abhishek Chaubey to direct film on hockey legend Dhyan Chand

Sonchiriya director Abhishek Chaubey will be helming the biopic based on hockey legend Dhyan Chand. The film, which will go on floors in 2021, is being produced by Ronnie Screwvala and co-produced by Premnath Rajagopalan. The biopic will release in 2022. The cast has not been finalised yet. The biopic will largely chronicle Dhyan Chand’s journey to fame during the British Raj.

While earlier, there were reports that Abhishek Chaubey will be directing a film based on the life of Dhyan Chand, the same has now been confirmed. Bollywood trade analyst, Taran Adarsh, took to Twitter to make the announcement. He wrote, “HOCKEY LEGEND #DHYANCHAND BIOPIC ANNOUNCED…

Producer Ronnie Screwvala and director Abhishek Chaubey reunite, after #Sonchiriya… Announce a film on #Hockey legend #DhyanChand… Co-produced by Premnath Rajagopalan… Star cast under finalisation… Starts 2021… 2022 release (sic).”

According to earlier reports, an A-lister will be considered for the role. Many big names have shown their interest to play the lead role in the biopic.

Dhyan Chand is among the most celebrated Indian hockey players of all times. He is regarded as the greatest in the history of hockey. He was part of 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympic gold medal-winning teams. Under his captaincy, the Indian hockey team won many accolades. Born on August 29, 1905 in Prayagraj (then Allahabad), the sportsman was popular with the nickname The Wizard. Dhyan Chand represented the Indian Hockey team from 1926 to 1948 and scored over 400 goals in the 185 matches that he played as a centre forward during his international career. In 1956, he was felicitated with the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour. His birth anniversary is celebrated as National Sports Day.

Abhishek Chaubey is one of the finest directors in Bollywood. He is known for films like Ishqiya, Dedh Ishqiya, Udta Punjab and Sonchiriya. Before making his debut as a director, he worked as an assistant to director Vishal Bhardwaj in the film Spider. He was also an assistant director in Maqbool, The Blue Umbrella and Omkara.