In 2021, former Indian men’s cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly took to social media to share that a biopic on his life is in the offing, and that it will be produced by Luv Ranjan’s banner. Last month, it was reported that Ranbir Kapoor was the top contender for the lead role.

However, Sourav had dismissed the news back then, saying, “No final decision has been taken. I hope we can share something positive after the meeting.”

A few days ago, rumours resurfaced that Ranbir is likely to head to Kolkata soon to visit the iconic Eden Gardens, CAB (Cricket Association of Bengal) office and even Ganguly’s house before he starts shooting for the biopic, which is speculated to be mounted on a huge budget. Sourav has reportedly said yes to the final draft of the script and the film is supposed to roll out soon.

When we reached out to the film’s co-producer, Ankur Garg, he said, “Honestly, there’s no update to share at this point in time. The biopic will be one of the projects that we will focus on after our upcoming film’s release. For now, casting or anything else hasn’t been discussed.”

Sourav’s wife, Dona Ganguly, said, “I am not sure. I don’t know yet,” and added all speculations are too premature.

Sanjay Das, a close friend of Sourav and one of the initiators of this biopic, shared, “Nothing about the film is fixed yet. We will need at least eight-nine months to decide who will play the lead role. Once everything falls into place, Sourav and the production house will formally announce who will play his character on screen. That Ranbir Kapoor is likely to play Dada is just a rumour, at least at this point.”

As speculations about who will play Sourav Ganguly in the BCCI president’s biopic continue to gain steam, the ex-cricketer’s family is busy discussing the moments of his life that ought to be highlighted in the film. While it’s confirmed that the former Team India skipper has given his nod to the biopic, we heard he is yet to sign on the dotted line. The name of the director is still under wraps, but the Hindi film will be produced by a big banner and the budget is Rs. 250 crore approximately. Though it has been widely speculated that Ranbir Kapoor will play Sourav in the film, there is no official confirmation on this yet.

When we reached out to Sourav’s wife Dona yesterday, she told us, “Several production houses in Mumbai and Kolkata have shown keen interest in the biopic and we are considering all options. The biopic is still in its nascent stage, but it is happening for sure.”

A source close to Sourav told us, “The scriptwriting process is currently underway and Dada is having a series of meetings with the film team to share his inputs on the biopic. Although he has not signed the film yet, work on the project has kicked off.”

The source further added that Sourav’s daughter Sana is very happy and excited with the news of a biopic being made on her father. “Sana has several suggestions that she keeps sharing with Sourav. The biopic has become a hot topic of discussion at all of their family gatherings, where everyone joins in the excitement by sharing their suggestions on which iconic moments of Sourav’s life should be featured in the film,” said the source.

We also heard that Sourav’s relationship with wife Dona during his school days will be shown in the film. “Their affair used to be the talk of the town back then and the film will include that part of Dada’s early life, among many other phases. The milestone moments of his life — like the one where Dada went shirtless on the balcony of Lord’s Cricket Ground — will of course be featured,” added the source. Some of the other highlights of the biopic would be Sourav’s inglorious Chappell years and his magnificent knocks throughout his cricketing career.

— With inputs from Debolina Sen