Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem has become a national hero across the border in Pakistan. The 27-year-old threw an Olympic record 92.97m at the men’s javelin throw competition in Paris to win the gold, beating defending champion and hot favourite, India’s Neeraj Chopra. Given this is Pakistan’s first Olympic medal in 32 years, the country is euphoric at Arshad’s achievement. And talks of a biopic are already underway.
Pakistan’s film industry Lollywood is based out of Lahore and produces films in Punjabi and Urdu. Major stars from the industry have already expressed interest in making a film on Arshad’s life. In a TV interview, Humayun Saeed expressed his excitement about the idea and said he would love to produce a film based on Arshad's life story.
Fellow actor Mohsin Abbas Haider took to his social media and even expressed his desire to play the role of Arshad if such a project comes to life.“Please make a biopic on Arshad Nadeem Olympian’s journey, I so want to play his character,” wrote Haider, followed by a folded-hands emoji. Haider, a TV star-turned- film actor, has often been compared to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan due to his looks and mannerisms, also largely due to him working in a film called Main Shahrukh Khan Hoon.
Arshad Nadeem’s life story and struggles have been written about a lot since his Olympic triumph, causing many to say that his dramatic story is perfect fodder for a film. The javelin thrower hails from Mian Channu in Pakistan and his family almost always struggled to make ends meet. Getting no support from the government, he crowdfunded his trip to the Paris Olympics with his villagers arranging for his travel and stay. Nadeem also underwent a knee surgery six months before Paris Olympics raising serious concerns about his participation in the event. However, the athlete triumphed against the odds to not just turn up but obliterate the competition.
Sports biopics may be unusual to Pakistan but Indian cinema has seen countless of those in the recent past. Many Indian Olympians have seen films made on their lives in Bollywood, ranging from Mary Kom and Milkha Singh to Paralympic champ Murlikant Petkar, whose story was told in Chandu Champion.
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