For Mary Kom biopic, Priyanka Chopra working hard to get boxer’s body
Priyanka is working on her stomach muscles in preparation for playing Olympic boxer Mary Kom. No actress in Bollywood has played a boxer before. Naturally as Priyanka Chopra is gearing up to essay Olympic boxer Mary Kom, she will be training hard to achieve a sportswoman’s body.
Sources say that Priyanka is working very hard to develop abdominal muscles to portray Mary to the hilt.
A source says, “She is taking her fitness to another level. Priyanka is charged up for her role. If she hasn’t found time in the day to work out, she hits the gym even in the middle of the night.”
Apparently it was Priyanka who convinced the makers about her look and currently is huffing and puffing away at the gym.
Mary Kom (film)
Mary Kom is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language biographical sports film directed by Omung Kumar and produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film stars Priyanka Chopra in the lead role of the eponymous boxer, with Darshan Kumar and Sunil Thapa in supporting roles of her husband and mentor, respectively. Mary Kom depicts Kom’s journey of becoming a boxer to her victory at the 2008 World Boxing Championships in Ningbo. The film marks the Hindi playback singing debut of Chopra, who provided her vocals for a song named “Chaoro” (a lullaby).
Mary Kom was developed by writer Saiwyn Quadras, who suggested the storyline to Kumar when Kom was not a familiar name in India despite her numerous achievements. Kumar met Kom to ask her permission for the film, before her bronze medal victory at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which brought her recognition. Chopra underwent extensive physical training for four months to attain a muscular physique and learned the sport and Kom’s distinct boxing style. Principal photography started in June 2013 at Filmistan, where the boxing sequences were filmed. After plans to shoot in Kom’s hometown, Manipur, were dropped due to safety concerns, Mary Kom was shot in Dharamshala and Manali, where a major portion of Manipur was recreated.
The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, becoming the first Hindi film to be screened on the opening night of the festival. Made on a budget of ₹180 million, Mary Kom was released on 5 September 2014 to generally positive reviews with praise for Chopra’s performance. Upon its release, the film recorded the highest opening weekend of all time for a female-led Indian film. The film was a box office success, grossing ₹2.04 billion at the box office. Mary Kom is also ranked among the highest-grossing Indian films led by a female actor.
Mary Kom received several accolades at award ceremonies across India. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Film and Best Actress for Chopra. Additionally, Chopra won the Screen Award and the Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
19 Feb 2013 – mid-day.com
