With the success of Adnan Sarwar’s Shah, filmmakers are wondering whether to explore the untested ‘sports biopic’ genre in Pakistan or not. After all, Shah had all the ingredients a film needed to be successful at the local box office. For those who know the sports history of Pakistan, there are many athletes here whose lives on paper is as interesting as a movie script, let’s ponder about the ones who have the potential to become hits on screen.

JAHANGIR KHAN

Title of the film: King Khan – Birth of a Legend

Genre: Sports drama

Plot: Former British Open Champion Roshan Khan lost his son Torsam Khan to squash; his younger brother wasn’t anxious to continue playing the game that took his brother’s life. Cousin Rehmat Khan enters the frame and makes a champion out of the lad now known to all as Jahangir Khan. Jahangir won a record 555 matches before being defeated by Ross Norman in 1986 and still holds the most number of British Open trophies. In Squash, he is known as the ‘Conqueror’ because of his ability to win lost battles and he remains one of the few sportsmen whose record was as clean as could be. His initial struggles, his victories, his legendary training and his port-career story can be used for a film with Jahangir himself narrating it all in flashback with a young actor reliving his career on screen.

Following are a few ideas for super hit movies based on the lives of our sports personalities

ISLAHUDDIN

Title of the film: Dash like Islah

Genre: Sports action

Plot: He was in the squad for the 1968 Olympic Games but became one of the two players dropped a week before the Games. The team won the gold medal and it remains the only prize Islahuddin didn’t win during his playing career. The closest he came was in 1972 (silver) and bronze (1976). This alone can be a great pitch for a film because it was under Islah’s coaching that Pakistan managed to clinch bronze in 1992, the last time they reached the podium at the Olympics. In addition, his speed can also be played upon during the script as he used to run faster than most of his teammates; he was instrumental in the team’s victories during his career and injustice was done to him when he was unceremoniously axed the same year he steered the team to a gold medal in the World Cup. This story has everything, right?

ABDUL KHALIQ

Title of the film: Flying Bird

Genre: Sports drama

Plot: Indian athlete Milkha Singh’s heroics pale in comparison to Pakistan’s Abdul Khaliq who was portrayed in the movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag as a ‘bad man’. In fact he was the champion when it came to the 100 metres race and even broke Indian Lavy Pinto’s record during the 1954 Asian Games. The film can target how the great sprinter was mistreated by the officials during his career and port-retirement, why he failed when he ran outside Asia (he was made to participate in multiple heats on countless occasions) and why his name is not mentioned when the list of greatest Pakistani sportsmen is compiled. A couple of Punjabi songs, a powerful background score and a love story in the backdrop of his successes can make this flick a sure shot hit.

HANIF MOHAMMAD

Title of the film: Little Master

Genre: Sports drama

Plot: For a boy who migrated from India to Pakistan with nothing except his talent and a mother who believed in him, Hanif Mohammad came a long way. He was the Pakistan cricket team’s first superstar and his heroics are uncountable. Be it his knock of 337 runs against the West Indies, his then-first class record of 499 runs, his 12 centuries and near centuries (mostly 90s), his tenure as captain and his controversial retirement (he retired to save the careers of his brothers Mushtaq and Sadiq), all can be used for a film.

JAVED MIANDAD

Title of the film: Javed the Street Fighter

Genre: Sports drama

Plot: Some play cricket for fun, Javed Miandad played the game for the thrill. From a street fighter who began his career in the ’70s to the batsman who was the architect of Pakistan’s victory in the 1992 World Cup, Javed Miandad remains a loyal servant to his country. He was known for his spats with rival team mates (Dennis Lillee and Kiran More being the most famous) but he also used his street-smart techniques whenever he had the chance. He was like a computer playing the game rather than a cricketer scoring runs because not only did he score himself, he made the other add runs to his kitty as well. A film on Javed Miandad will certainly go a long way, especially if it recreates the ‘last ball four runs required’ six off Chetan Sharma in Sharjah!

SHAHID AFRIDI

Title of the film: Lala/Boom 2

Genre: Sports drama

Plot: He began his career as a 16-year-old who had never batted in his life against world-class bowlers; he made mincemeat out of them on his very first outing and thus began the reign of Lala. Shahid Afridi’s career has seen more highs and lows than the next five cricketers combined and his swashbuckling way of batting, his controversy-laden career and his magical bowling all can be used in a script for a film. Be it his tampering the pitch, chewing the ball, hitting the spectator or fighting at the airport, this script will be as explosive as his batting. He remains the only batsman to score three centuries in less than 53 balls; score a 50 and take seven wickets in a one day international and was instrumental in bringing the T20 World Cup to Pakistan in 2009.

SHOAIB AKHTAR

Title of the film: Mr 100!

Genre: Sports comedy

Plot: If you have seen Bernie Mac’s Mr 3000, then you know how Shoaib Akhtar’s career can be used in a sports film. The film can begin with a statistician claiming that the day Shoaib Akhtar bowled the fastest delivery; the speed machine wasn’t working correctly. Shoaib Akhtar (playing himself) will announce that he can still bowl the fastest delivery and meets the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman for a comeback. On the basis of his reputation he gets a place in the side but is unable to bowl quick or gel with the teammates because the current coach of the team couldn’t get a place in the side (when he was playing) due to Shoaib. A former fast bowler comes into his life, coaches him and in the end, he not only betters his own record but wins a match for Pakistan by dismissing a batsman off the fastest delivery!

SALMAN/ASIF/AAMIR

Title of the film: Dhokay Baaz

Genre: Sports drama

Plot: The black day of Pakistan cricket is known to all; Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif bowled a no-ball each and captain Salman Butt, instead of condemning them, smiled for it brought the three players big bucks. A film on the life of the three tainted cricketers could be a massive hit where songs in clubs would show how Salman Butt became corrupt; how he convinced the other two of joining him in his quest for big bucks and why two of them didn’t accept the crime in front of the British judge. The ending will not be a happy one but at least it will show people that all that glitters isn’t gold.

SAMIULLAH

Title of the film: Sami: The Flying Horse

Genre: Sports drama

Plot: Samiullah is regarded as one of the best forwards in the history of Pakistan hockey but he never won the Olympic gold medal, something that he regrets till now. The film can begin from the 1972 Munich Olympics where Shahnaz Sheikh and many players mocked the medals and were banned from the game, thus giving Sami a chance to make his debut. Not only did he go on to star in Pakistan’s glorious wins in the multiple World Cups, Champions Trophy and the Asian Games, he led the side after Islahuddin with distinction. And when Pakistan went to win the Olympic gold medal in 1984 at Los Angeles, he was part of the Pakistani contingent as an observer, not as a captain or a player. Good story, isn’t it?

MOHAMMAD YOUSUF

Title of the film: The Run Machine

Genre: Sports drama

Plot: Mohammad Yousuf began his cricket career as Yousuf Youhana, a Christian lad from Youhanabad. His life has more twists and turns than any other cricketer’s because from a person who used to make a cross after achieving a milestone to one who bowed down to Allah, he came a long way. He had a magical run in 2007 where he broke Sir Vivian Richards’ record of most Test runs in a calendar year, joined Indian Cricket League and later instigated a rebellion against captain Younis Khan, only to be declared a villain by Pakistan Cricket Board. He made a brief comeback in 2010 and still blames Misbah ul Haq for snatching his place from him, although Misbah did no such thing.

Write to us at dawn.sportsweekly@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 30th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play