Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; April 18, 2015)

Makers of the upcoming Aamir Khan-starrer, Dangal, had been on an intense hunt to zero in on the girls to play his on-screen daughters. In the film, the actor will be seen as wrestling coach Mahavir Phogat, who trained three Commonwealth Games gold medalists, including his daughters Geeta and Babita Kumari, to success. Now if sources are to be believed, the makers have finalised a young athlete from Haryana to essay Geeta’s part.

Earlier, there were reports that Akshara Haasan, Taapsee Pannu and Deeksha Seth were being considered for the role. Says a source, “Over 15,000 girls were auditioned in Haryana, includingTaapsee and television actress Kritika Kamra. But the production team selected a local athlete.”

The film’s director, Nitesh Tewari, dismisses the buzz.