23 October,2024 12:08 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Babita Phogat opens up about Dangal
Nitesh Tiwari's 2016 hit wrestling drama Dangal, featuring Aamir Khan, likely made Babita Phogat a well-known name, but it didn't help her family financially. In a recent interview with News 24, the wrestler-turned-politician revealed how much the Phogat family was paid by the filmmakers for the rights to tell their story.
When asked how much money the Phogat family made from the makers of Dangal, she revealed it was less than 1% of the film's total box office earnings. To put it in perspective, Dangal made about â¹2,000 crore globally. When the host mentioned a figure of â¹20 crore for the Phogat family, she clarified that it was actually around â¹1 crore, which is half of 10% of that amount. This deal was finalized before Aamir Khan became involved as a producer, during the scripting phase with director Nitesh Tiwari's team.
Babita revealed, "My father (Mahavir Singh Phogat) had said only one thing - âWe want people's respect and love. Leave everything else.'"
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She mentioned that she became well-known thanks to the support of the people rather than just the movie. She also recalled that when Aamir joined the project, his team suggested changing the characters' names, but Mahavir wouldn't agree to that. Babita also shared that after Dangal was a big hit, her father proposed to Aamir's team that they open a wrestling academy in Haryana, "Of course, we were in talks with his team regarding the opening of an academy. They said neither yes nor no," Babita added that the academy never really materialised.
Helmed by Nitesh Tiwari 'Dangal' was released in the year 2016. Starring actor Aamir Khan in the lead role the film was declared a blockbuster hit and is one of the highest-grossing Indian films. The film was based on India's first female wrestlers Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari and their father Mahaveer Singh Phogat.
Meanwhile, Aamir was recently seen in the family entertainer film 'Laal Singh Chaddha' which failed to impress the audience at the box office. Sanya, on the other hand, was seen in director Meghna Gulzar's biopic film 'Sam Bahadur', opposite Vicky Kaushal. Fatima will be next seen in director Anurag Basu's anthology film 'Metro...In Dino.'
