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Having a ball on celluloid

Football fever has made filmmakers take a second look at the sport. Result? SANGEETA DEVI K. lists a string of films based on sports

PHOTO: AFP

FOOTBALL FEVER Films with sports as background are not very popular in India barring a couple of exceptions

For some time now, our cricket crazy nation has been looking beyond the willow. Much credit goes to sportspersons ranging from Rajyavardhan Rathore to Sania Mirza, and Chetan Anand to Saina Nehwal.

Entertainment bigwigs, of course, have been quick to cash in on the general euphoria time and again. Right now, no sport matters more than soccer even though our team didn't even manage a passing mention (or glance, for that matter).

But that hasn't stopped our best-looking footballer (let's admit that the game does have to do with looks too) Baichung Bhutia giving his expert opinion on television.

And it's just on TV and the football field Bhutia has been displaying his prowess. Choreographer turned filmmaker Ahmed Khan has approached him for some gyan. Khan's forthcoming film, Yahan Ke Hum Sikander, features Nana Patekar as the Indian football team's coach. Nana, being the perfectionist he is, will take tips from Bhutia.

However, the film now has competition. Shimit Amin (Ram Gopal Varma's protégé who made Ab Tak Chappan before moving on to the Yash Chopra camp) has signed Shah Rukh Khan for Chak De. SRK plays a football coach for a women's team.

Meanwhile, UTV is also producing a film on football.

However, arguably the best film on football is Bend It Like Beckham, a U.K. production by Gurinder Chaddha. We cheered Jesminder Kaur on in her battle to trade aloo parathas for soccer boots.

There are also other lesser-known Indian films with the beautiful game as the backdrop. Remember Anil Kapoor as a goalkeeper in Anil Ganguly's Saheb (1985)? The empty stadium, which is the scene for the super melodious "Yaar Bina Chen Kahan Re" sung by the inimitable Bappi Lahiri, was the scene of much drama and emotion. More recently came Ekta Kapoor's forgettable Koi Aap Sa, starring Aftab Shivdasani as a football player.

Cashing in on the World Cup fever are also film festivals being held across the country. Malappuram in football-crazy Kerala saw one such recently while Pune has a month-long football film fest.

Indian films have had periodical romances with sport (any number of films have the lead pair coyly playing badminton or tennis where the object is clearly to show off shapely legs than sporting prowess) but only a few have left any impression. Lagaan tops the list followed closely by Iqbal.

What we can definitely expect from the forthcoming films is a joy ride. Knowing box office requirements, it will be a while before we see a sporty film that sets your grey cells ticking on the lines of the sadly under-rated Cinderella Man or the glorious Chariots of Fire which had the Olympics as its backdrop.

Games people play in real life

Rahul Bose: Films apart, rugby is the lifeline for this thinking woman's sex symbol. He is deadly serious about his sport and no wonder he takes a break from movies whenever there is a match season in the offing.
Esha Deol: If she had her way and the opportunity, she'd have continued being part of the national football team. Deol gave it up for a middling career in the movies.
Players in-the-making
Neena Gupta's daughter Masaba Richards and Anahita, Mallika Sarabhai's daughter, have taken to cricket seriously. Young Sarabhai, who is a classical dancer like her illustrious grandmom and mom, wishes there were a national team where women can play the sport on a par with men.

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