‘Olympics medal haul has opened up doors for sports films’

UPite Manoj Tiwari, whose directorial venture P Se Pyaar, F Se Faraar (2019) was based on the love story of an upcoming javelin player in 2019, says suddenly there is a lot of enthusiasm in the industry about sports other than cricket.

“Earlier, only cricket, hockey, boxing, wrestling and somewhat athletics were in focus. Neeraj Chopra’s golden feat and medal haul by our sportspersons in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has opened doors for biopic and sports film in different games. OTT platforms are approaching me for digital rerelease of my film as theatre rerelease is not favourable at the moment,” says the film maker.

Starring Bhavesh Kumar, Jimmy Sheirgill, Kumud Mishra and Girish Kulkarni his film touches the caste system and discrimination on the backdrop of a love story of an upcoming javelin player.

In the industry since early 90s, he became director nearly 20 years after. “In 2005, I became first-ever assistant director for Shubhashji (Ghai) in film Kisna: The Warrior Poet. Then I directed my first film Hello Darling (2010) under his banner which starred Gul Panag, Celina Jaitley, Isha Koppikar and Javed Jaffery. My second film as director Global Baba (2016) starred Abhimanyu Singh and Pankaj Tripathi,” he says.

Hailing from Kushinagar, he gives a peek into his journey. “I come from a village which has no electricity, no basic amenities and gets inundated during monsoons. After passing class 12, I left for Mumbai (1990). With Bhojpuri as my native language, initial 3 years were very tough phase. Then I got into South Indian film industry,” he says.

His turning point was working with Sunny Deol in film Zor (1996). “I have done multiple films with him, including his directoral debut

Dillagi, while I was creative director for Ghayal Once Again (2016). I was very clear that I have to become a director and worked very hard for it. Today, I feel proud that I have helped around 500 people from my hometown to get in this industry in various departments including my both brothers.”

Tiwari also directed an international series Khawabo Ke Darmiyan which fetched him an award.

“I have completed a short film Tvameva Sarvam with Sanjay Mishra that is going to international film festival. Then, I am working on a webseries Seven, which will be shot in seven states including UP. Next, I am directing biopic on Varanasi-based athlete Neelu Mishra’s incredible comeback journey — winning 79 international and national medals for India. We are in process of zeroing on the cast,” he says on his visit to Varanasi.

Manoj Tiwari