This can be termed as a case of reluctant witness to his own greatness. As 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' completed five years on Thursday (May 26), it's revealed that it took around one year to convince Sachin Tendulkar that his life and times should be documented in the film. (More Cricket News)
'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' not only chronicles the personal life of arguably the greatest batter ever, but it also celebrates a sport that continues to Indians every reason to dream. And on Thursday, the maestro himself admitted that it "was wonderful to re-live a beautiful journey."
But it might not have been the case had the batting great turned down the offer to make a docu-drama on his life. For whatever reason, Tendulkar was reluctant to have it made.
Ravi Bhagchandka, the co-producer of 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' told TOI that "It took me around a year or more to convince him that his life, journey and milestones should be documented."
A fact that Sachin Tendulkar had admitted in 2017.
"When I was approached to get a film made on my life in 2012, I rejected it for eight long months, till the makers convinced me that I just needed to be myself and didn't have to act. Finally, I agreed and the film is ready and even released in 2017,” the Little Master had said.
Directed by James Erskine (of The Human Face fame) directed the docu-drama, it took "five years to make the documentary." And as it turned out, 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' became a hit with fans, and also received rave reviews.
"Fortunately, our director, James Erskine is extremely efficient and adept at handling such challenges," Bhagchandka added, sharing one interesting anecdote.
"Let me tell you when the news of a film being made on him broke out because we haven’t really explored the documentary culture in India, everyone thought that Aamir (Khan) sir was going to play Sachin.”
For the record, Tendulkar once said that "Aamir Khan is best suited to play me" if ever there was a biopic made, and "the reason for the same is Lagaan."
Tendulkar and Khan are also very close friends. "I know Aamir for many years, he is a close friend and a fabulous actor as well," Tendulkar had said in 2017 after the release of 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams.'
It's often reported that the two first met on the sets of Aamir Khan’s film, Andaaz Apna Apna in 1989 in Mehboob Studio.
Sachin Tendulkar, 49, is the only batter to score a century of centuries in international cricket. After making his international debut as a 16-year-old on November 15, 1989, the right-handed batter played 200 Tests, 463 ODIs and a lone T20I for India, scoring 34357 runs in a career spanning 24 years.
The former India captain retired from cricket on November 16, 2013, Sachin Tendulkar is often hailed as 'The God of Cricket'.
“We shot in different cities and countries, and interviewed more than 80-100 people. We also went through about 10,000 hours of archive footage to see what we needed. All of this took us five years to make the documentary," Bhagchandka said.
Despite his initial reluctance, Tendulkar was "involved right from the making of the film to the end," revealed Bhagchandka. "He dubbed the documentary in Hindi, English and Marathi. He wanted everything to be factually correct and not traverse into the fiction space at all."
