It’s official. A biopic on sports icon Sourav Ganguly is in the works. A News18 report said while Ganguly had confirmed the film, being produced by by a big banner, will be in Hindi, the director’s name couldn’t be revealed. But the biggest question remains: who will play Dada on screen?

Ranbir Kapoor has emerged hot favourite, and trade analyst Komal Nahta agrees. “It is psychological but Ranbir definitely fits the bill. He will look like Ganguly, one has seen him play Sanjay Dutt in Sanju (2018),” he feels.

While many hailed Kapoor as the best choice, other names too are being floated. Producer-trade expert Girish Johar believes Varun Dhawan is a good option. “Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao would be the other obvious choices. But it would also be possible to see Varun. He’s a saleable name, the only thing is he hasn’t experimented much. This will do what Sanju did to Ranbir’s career, add a feather to Dhawan’s career,” he says.

Vicky Kaushal is another possible option according to trade expert Atul Mohan, who says the actor’s energy in Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) was similar to Ganguly’s on-field dynamism. “Vicky is a good actor. The kind of aggression we have seen in Dada… I have been watching cricket since childhood. Jo woh josh wali baat hai na, how Ganguly would be charged up and the kind of things he has done, I think Vicky is close to that. Rajkummar is also a brilliant actor and a big name. Though, for me, Ranbir would be number one,” he reasons.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says Ganguly’s life would make for a ‘great feature film’, provided it has a good director and a great actor in the lead role. “The actor should match the athlete on screen. There is no official confirmation on the final name. Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh both could play him,” he says, adding one has to wait for the final announcement to know.