Director Amole Gupte and team build 12 badminton courts in seven days in the suburbs for Saina Nehwal biopic; shooting scheduled to wrap up in January
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 25, 2019)

Mirror had earlier reported (October 7) that Parineeti Chopra will kick off the Amole Gupte-directed Saina at a studio in Vasai on October 11. Now, we have learnt that the makers have built 12 sets on the outskirts of the city to recreate the badminton courts from across the globe where Saina Nehwal played key matches of her career. “We have already completed over five court designs. Each court represents a different match, right from Czech Republic to Manila,” Amole informs.

The sets were created by Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborthy, who have previously worked on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat and Akshay Kumar’s Kesari. “Amit and Subrata are my dearest friends and have worked with me on Hawaa Hawaai and Sniff. Their experience and wisdom helped widen the vision of Saina. They have created international-looking stadiums. The task is difficult to achieve in a limited time but Amit’s team, especially his art director Bala Patil, have been amazing,” Amole beams.

Amit informs that the sets were created in seven days, adding, “Over a hundred people worked 24/7. Now, we are shooting each match for a couple of days and then working overnight to turn the look around for the next one. It’s like an ant’s colony at work.” The Bhushan Kumar production traces the ascend of the badminton ace to World No 1, traveling across countries and highlighting milestones of her career. The film’s second schedule will wrap up in the next few days. “There’s one more schedule in January and we will be done,” Amole informs.