Download Film Mary Kom: The Film That Celebrates the Achievements of the Olympic Medalist

Mary Kom is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language biographical sports film based on the life of the eponymous boxer Mary Kom, directed by Omung Kumar and produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film stars Priyanka Chopra in the lead role, with newcomer Darshan Kumar and Sunil Thapa in supporting roles of her husband and mentor, respectively, and 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 the 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.

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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.

During his work as an art director on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya (2007), Omung Kumar started writing two scripts simultaneously for his directorial debut. However, none of the films were made.[4] He then asked writer Saiwyn Quadras to look for a female biographical subject for his first film, specifying "a role that no actress would turn down."[5] He added that he "wanted to make a film that would be like the Mother India of someone's career." Historical personalities such as Rani Laxmi Bai and Queen Elizabeth I of England came up for discussion; however they did not inspire Kumar.[5] Quadras put forward the name of five-time world boxing champion Mary Kom, who despite numerous achievements, was at that time an unfamiliar name in India. Kumar admitted that he felt disgusted after being told of Kom's achievements as he was unaware of her existence. Quadras later approached Kumar with the script for Mary Kom, and he decided to make his directorial debut with it.[5][6]

Quadras, who was interested in sports, started writing the screenplay for the film in 2011, which took two years to complete.[6] Quadras arranged a meeting with Kom via her manager in the year he started writing the script.[6] Kumar went to Manipur to meet Kom and seek her permission to make the film. Initially, Kom was surprised by the development as the sport, especially women's boxing, was not well known in India. However, she was enthusiastic about the idea.[7]

Research for the film was done through available sources, such as online information and newspaper archives. Kom's videos played a key role in the research.[6] The writer also had several telephone and email conversations with her regarding her biography. In her interactions with Quadras and Kumar, Kom was forthcoming when it came to the details of her life, and had significant input in the screenplay.[6] However, Quadras revealed that his biggest challenge was to make the film authentic and cinematic yet not documentary-like, so he wrote the film in a manner that showed the struggles Kom went through as a female sportsperson who had to confront opposition from her father, politics and making a comeback after a long career break.[6] Karan Singh RathoreRamendra Vashishth wrote the dialogues.[3] The film only shows the period from her early struggles and her comeback after motherhood. Her fifth World Boxing Championship win and the London Olympics were left out because of the contract that permitted a depiction of Kom's life up to 2008. The contract for the film was signed at that time when Kom had not even qualified for the London Olympics.[8] Nevertheless, the film took several cinematic liberties for dramatic effects.[8]

In a 2012 meeting with Bhansali, Kumar told him about the film; he explained that this was a kind of cinema contrary to Bhansali's signature work. Still, Bhansali wanted to hear the story and was also enthusiastic towards the project. After hearing the script, he liked it and immediately agreed to produce the film.[5][9] Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Bhansali, Under his production company Bhansali Productions came together to produce the film.[3] However, Kumar's colleagues were not sure if a film based in Manipur would be well received by the audience.[4] This concern evaporated after the 2012 Summer Olympics, where Kom won a bronze medal. Her win also highlighted her previous achievements.[4][10] After the news of the development of the film broke in the media, the makers clarified that the film was in development since 2011, much before the Olympics, and they were not influenced by her recent success.[11][12] In an interview with Press Trust of India, Bhansali described the film as a "rare experiment", for the fact that "Not many films are based on biopics of living people" and expressed his pride about his association with the project, adding that the story was so inspiring, it touched his heart.[10]

Chopra was Kumar's and Bhansali's first choice for the title role.[5][13] In early November 2012, media reports suggested that Chopra entered negotiations to star in the film, which she denied initially.[13] Later in that month, it was confirmed that she had been cast for the part.[14] She was initially skeptical about the film due to the demanding nature of the character, which included training, muscle building, and learning the sport. She later agreed to the film because of Kumar's confidence in her.[4] The decision to cast Chopra proved controversial as some believed that an actress from Northeast India bearing Kom's likeness would be better suited for the role.[4][5] The director however felt that the film needed a big star with a wider reach and casting an unknown actress from that region would reduce the film's scope and lessen its reach, thus defeating his purpose of telling Kom's story to a larger audience.[4][5] Emphasizing Chopra's bankability and reach among the audiences Kumar remarked, "I not only needed a capable actress but also someone who can connect with millions of viewers".[4][5] Mary Kom defended Chopra's casting and thought of Chopra as the "perfect choice" for the role.[13][15] In an interview with Daily News and Analysis, Kom described Chopra as the best actress to play the role, adding that her body was well structured, like that of a boxer.[7]

In contrast, it took the casting directors Shruti Mahajan and Paragg Mehta several months of auditions to finalise the appropriate supporting actors for the film.[5] In May 2013, a wide section of the media reported that Danny Denzongpa was approached to play Kom's coach Narjit Singh in the film.[16] Instead, Sunil Thapa was cast for the role of Kom's coach.[17] Darshan Kumar was finalised as Kom's husband, footballer Onler Kom, after a series of auditions which included three different looks representing three different stages in his life.[18][19] Robin Das, a National School of Drama professor, was cast in the role of Kom's father.[17]

Before filming began, Chopra prepared for three months. The preparations included building the physique of a boxer and learning the sport.[20] Samir Jaura was brought in to train Chopra.[21] At that time, she was busy dubbing for Krrish 3 (2013), and filming for Gunday (2014).[21] It was then decided that Jaura would accompany her to film shoots, so that continuity in training could be maintained.[21] Though he did not get a chance to meet Kom, he used her videos to study her body language and prepare a workout plan for Chopra,[17] who started training in April 2013.[22][23] She found it hard to train vigorously to attain a boxer's physique. She was put on a low-carb, high-protein diet.[17] "As a girl it was very difficult to build those muscles. I had to build in three months what Mary did in 15 years", she said in an interview with Deccan Chronicle.[22]

Chopra got a fifteen-day break from her other commitments to train for the film. She relocated to her bungalow in Goa, where she would train for five hours a day.[21] After completing workouts, which included weights and circuit training, she insisted on training for boxing. Later, boxing was made a part of her daily workout.[21] She was trained by Kom's coaches to learn her distinct boxing style.[20] Chopra explained that she did not have to act like a boxer, but had to become one and said, "To learn boxing was a religion. Today, I can play the sport as I know the rules, body posture, foot work, I can hit, I can defend. I know the game."[24]

Darshan Kumar described his character as an "encouraging husband", who is the pillar of strength in Kom's life.[30] He found the character challenging due to contrasting personalities. Unlike Chopra, Kumar did not meet Onler Kom before the film. He mainly made use of the videos which Kom had provided to the makers, which helped him understand the nuances of his character. For the role, he had to learn the Manipuri accent, which was difficult for him being a Haryanvi.[31] Kumar lost 12 kilogram to look the part, and followed a strict, grilled chicken and oil-free fish protein diet for three months.[19]

During the search, Vanita found two houses that were similar to those where Kom spent her childhood and lived after her marriage.[4] For authenticity, the house was filled with items similar to those found at Kom's house, such as indigenous short stools and woven curtains sourced from Manipur.[17] Since Kom has a separate trophy room where all her awards are kept, a similar room was created. Quotes from the Bible were added on the walls. A 19th-century church in Dharamshala was chosen for the wedding sequence.[4] Vanita noted that "the cinematic realism, was a different experience from the grandeur of Bhansali's sets." However, she found it difficult to recreate the run-down gym where Kom was trained. A place was chosen with minimal facilities and water leaking onto the walls. She revealed that the sets had to feel authentic rather than artificially created.[4] The costumes were designed by Isha Mantry and Rajat Tangri.[3] Tangri visited Manipur to study fabric used in local clothing. Tangri used photographs from Kom's childhood to create clothing which ranged from traditional to sporty and athletic attires.[17] For Kom's wedding sequence in the film, Tangri created an exact replica of her wedding gown.[33] 2ff7e9595c