Rajkumar Hirani – I’d like to direct sports-based film

Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani, who has produced “Saala Khadoos” which touches upon the life of a boxing coach, says he would like to direct a sports-based film in future.

“I love sports films… One of my favourite films is ‘Lagaan’. I feel that such films are usually about underdogs, fighting obstacles and finally achieving what they want. They are usually very inspiring and motivating films.

“If someday I get a script on the same line, I would love to direct it,” Hirani told IANS here.

He was in the capital to promote “Saala Khadoos”, which released on Friday. It features R. Madhavan and newcomer Ritika Singh, a real-life kickboxer, in lead roles.

Hirani says, at first, he was reluctant to cast a female lead, who’s a sportswoman in real life. But he credits the film’s writer and director Sudha Kongara Prasad for envisioning Ritika in the role.

“I was not reluctant to cast a (kick) boxer, not a new girl. I was not sure if she will act, but they went on a hunt and said ‘Let us try’. They wanted a fight to look real. They wanted the girl to take a punch and we got lucky to find one such face,” said Hirani.

Praising Ritika, he said: “She has got an honest approach towards life and she is able to take instructions. She speaks fast and in a peculiar fashion, and all these make her endearing.”

Hirani, who has previously directed award-winning films like “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”, “3 Idiots” and “PK”, feels that “films are not about faces but stories”.

“If you look at ‘3 Idiots’, the character Chatur Ramalingam was a very important role. He was the main villain but the person who did the character (Omi Vaidya) was a new guy, and he did convincingly well,” said the filmmaker.

Inputs by IANS