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Actor Rajkummar Rao confirms role as cricketer Sourav Ganguly in upcoming biopic
Rajkummar Rao has officially confirmed he will portray cricketing icon Sourav Ganguly in an upcoming biopic of the former India captain
After much speculation, Rajkummar Rao has officially confirmed he will portray cricketing icon Sourav Ganguly in an upcoming biopic of the former India captain. The actor's confirmation follows earlier hints from Sourav himself.
"Now that Dada has already said it, let me also make it official - yes, I am playing him in his biopic," Rajkummar Rao stated in an interview with NDTV.
The Stree actor admitted to feeling "extremely nervous" about taking on such a significant role, yet expressed equal excitement for the challenge ahead. "I am nervous... It's a huge responsibility, but it's going to be a lot of fun," he shared. Much to the delight of his fans, Rao even demonstrated his Bengali speaking skills during the interview, a language he has learned over the years thanks to his wife, Bengali actor Patralekhaa. He also expressed confidence in mastering the Bengali accent for the screen.
Earlier this year, Sourav Ganguly had already indicated Rajkummar Rao's casting, stating, “Rajkummar Rao will play the [lead] role.” Dismissing any notion of leading the project himself, Sourav added, “I think the right person is doing it. I’ll help him with everything.”
Sourav, who was a part of the Indian cricket team from 1992 to 2008 and is recognised as one of India's most successful captains, confirmed that filming is set to begin in January next year. “It’s going well. It will be released next December. Shooting starts in January,” he told PTI.
The 52-year-old cricketing legend, who boasts an impressive record of 18,575 runs across Tests and ODIs with 38 centuries, explained the extensive pre-production process. “The pre-production, story writing and scripting takes a lot of time. Shooting doesn’t take that much time. It’s about three months and then the post-production takes time,” he elaborated.
The official title and the director of the film are yet to be announced by the makers.
