Mumbai, March 23 National Award-winning filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari has opened up about the creative challenges he faced while writing the sports drama “Dangal.”
In a recent episode of Komal Nahta’s podcast "Game Changers," Tiwari revealed that one of the key hurdles was making the story engaging despite the audience knowing Geeta Phogat would win the gold medal. To keep the suspense intact, he and the writers made the bold decision to exclude Aamir Khan’s character from the finals, adding an unexpected twist to the film’s conclusion.
Nitesh revealed, “It was very alarming for us as writers as the audience knew that Geeta was going to win the gold. Now how do we make it a little difficult or different for the audience? So, when what is known, how becomes important.” The filmmaker went on to explain that they chose to keep Mahavir Singh out of the ending and wrote five different versions to make it work. This twist shifted the focus for the audience, making them wonder not if Geeta would win, but how she would triumph without her father’s presence.
“We decided Mahavir Singh cannot be there; he has to be outside, so we wrote five different versions of what can keep him out. And then we finally agreed to this one as it was paying off for the national anthem. So, the audience will not think that Geeta will win gold, but they will think about how she will win when Mahavir Singh is not there. That was the whole idea—to keep him out of the finals,” Nitesh explained.
For the unversed, the climax scene of "Dangal" takes place just before the final bout, when Geeta's jealous coach conspires to lock Mahavir in a distant closet, preventing him from guiding his daughter. In the match, Geeta wins the first round but loses the second. Despite her father's absence, Geeta triumphs and becomes the first Indian female wrestler to win a gold medal. Mahavir returns just in time to embrace his daughters, thwarting the coach’s hope of taking credit for her victory.
"Dangal" was produced by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao under Aamir Khan Productions, along with Siddharth Roy Kapur under The Walt Disney Company India. The sports drama starred Aamir Khan as Mahavir Singh Phogat. Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra portrayed the adult versions of the Phogat sisters, while Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar played their younger versions.
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