Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; January 4, 2018)

It takes a lot to make a biopic look and feel believable. Apart from crisp writing and a perfect setting, it requires an actor who not only emotes well on screen, but also looks convincing as the central subject. The challenge gets tougher when it’s a sports biopic, given the physical and emotional roller-coaster ride an artiste goes through during the course of the film. The audience hasn’t quite forgotten the way Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar metamorphosed into Mary Kom and Milkha Singh in their respective biopics.

And now, Diljit Dosanjh is poised to emulate hockey star and the former captain of the Indian team, Sandeep Singh, in his biopic, titled Soorma.

However, the Punjabi singer-turned-actor was not the first choice to play the part. One of the earliest contenders for the role was Ranveer Singh. It was reported in 2016 that actress Chitrangada Singh, one of the producers of the film, had approached the actor to play the central character.

When asked if opting for Diljit, his next best choice, Sandeep Singh, better known as Flicker Singh on the field, told BT, “It took a lot of effort for Chitrangda Singh to put this project together. She met a lot of filmmakers, actors and writers for the project. We wanted someone who looks real while playing me on screen. Diljit pagwala (turbaned) banda hai, main bhi hoon. Back in those days when we had started work on the project, Diljit paaji was not doing Hindi movies. He was a pure Punjabi artiste then. So, at that time, Ranveer Singh was the actor we were all keen on. But between 2016 and early 2017, Udta Punjab and Phillauri forced us to change our perception and rethink our decision. We eventually zeroed in on Diljit paaji; it was a near-unanimous decision. Today, if you see him on the field while shooting, he has transformed himself. He has put in a lot of effort to get his act right.”