While the football fever is on with the football world cup final slated for Sunday, not many would know that India was once called the ‘Brazil of Asia’ for its football team. Not only did the team won the praise and beat some of the top teams in the world but also went onto win the Gold at the 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia beating one of the toughest teams at that time, South Korea.
The story of Indian football architect, Syed Abdul Rahim, the coach and manager who was responsible for taking Indian football teams to such heights is all set to be turned into a feature film.
Produced by Zee Studios, Boney Kapoor, Akash Chawla and Joy Sengupta, the untold journey of India Football will see Ajay Devgn essay the role of the unsung hero. The yet untitled film will be directed by Amit Sharma, while the screenplay and dialogues are written by Saiwyn Quadros and Ritesh Shah respectively.
Talking about the film, Boney Kapoor said, “It’s amazing to see football, the worlds biggest game, having such a fever in India and yet our team is not being sent to important tournaments. When my partners Akash Chawla and Joy Sengupta brought me the true story of Syed Abdul Rahim, I was amazed that not many are even aware of this unsung hero and the achievements of that great team which had heroes like Chunni Goswami, P.K. Banerjee, Balaram, Franco, Arun Ghosh and many others. With the momentum of Khelo India getting pace, the time is right to push India.”
“An actor like Ajay is most apt for essaying this character. We hope that the film inspires millions of youngsters and soon India plays the World Cup and becomes a potent force in World Football.”, he added while talking about casting Ajay Devgn.
Shariq Patel, CEO, Zee Studios added, “Zee Studios believes in backing good content, and showcasing great characters. We are happy to collaborate with Boney Kapoor once again to tell the story of India’s football coach, Syed Abdul Rahim. Ajay Devgn essaying the character makes it even more special”