Local hero undermined in biopic

Most biopics lately are serving no purpose other than pleasing the fragile egos of the central figure in the story (or their kin and kith) and driving an agenda forward. One hardly expected the Saina Nehwal biopic to be such an attempt. Though Saina, the film captures the personal, professional highs and lows in her successful career, it hasn’t done justice to the portrayal of an influential figure who played a primary reason for her progress. Yes, we’re talking about Gopichand.

The film doesn’t even take Pullela Gopichand’s original name and the coach’s character is mysteriously titled Sarvadhamaan Rajan. A noted film critic Anna M Vetticad had noted, “Gopichand’s role in Nehwal’s rise, their split, rumours that she felt he was paying more attention to P.V. Sindhu, her triumphs without him and their reunion are widely known, so the decision to rechristen him in Saina is inexplicable. It is especially odd since there is nothing overtly defamatory in the screenplay that one might assume this call was taken to avoid a lawsuit.”

She further adds, “Photographs of the real Nehwal with her family, friends and public figures accompanying the credits do not feature a single shot of her with Gopichand. This feels terribly ungracious, and makes you wonder if their rift was even more bitter than the public realises.” The biopic has earned mixed reviews from audiences and critics. Given a PV Sindhu biopic is also in the works, one hopes that film would do justice to the coach and former badminton player.