It's official! Rajkummar Rao will step into the shoes of cricketing legend Sourav Ganguly in the much-anticipated biopic based on the life of the former India captain. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Rajkummar Rao confirmed the reports that had been swirling for a while.
"Now that Dada has already said it, let me also make it official - yes, I am playing him in his biopic," the National Award winning actor said.
The actor admitted to being "extremely nervous" about the role, but is equally excited about the challenge.
"I am nervous... It's a huge responsibility, but it's going to be a lot of fun," he said. To the fans' delight, Rajkummar Rao even showed off his Bengali speaking skills during the interview. It is a language he has picked up over the years thanks to his wife, actor Patralekhaa, who is Bengali.
Rajkummar Rao is also confident about getting the Bengali accent right on screen, he added.
Sourav Ganguly, one of India's most successful cricket captains, recently endorsed Rajkummar Rao's casting in his biopic. "I think the right person is doing it... I'll help him with everything," Ganguly said. The former skipper, who played for India between 1992 and 2008, revealed that the film will go on floors in January 2026 and is slated for a theatrical release in December the same year.
Sourav Ganguly also stated, "Rajkummar has been locked for the film. I don't think anyone else can play me better than him." The former India captain is closely involved in the creative process of the biopic, which will chronicle his journey from Kolkata's streets to the higher echelon of Indian cricket.
The currently untitled film will be directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and produced by Luv Films.
This is not the first time Rajkummar Rao is playing a real-life character on screen. He has previously played lawyer-human rights activist Shahid Azmi (Shahid), terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh (Omerta), and visually impaired industrialist Srikanth Bolla (Srikanth).
