Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar's wedding gift to actor-producer John Abraham is a film based on football. Shoojit recently met the actor and handed him a copy of the bound script of 1911, which has been scripted by Soumik Sen (also the director of Gulab Gang).
`I have been wanting to make a film about football for a long time now, and John's love for the game is a known fact. So I decided to approach him for this project,` says Shoojit.
Apart from John, who is producing the film, the director is planning to cast actor Ayushmann Khurana. After Vicky Donor, this will be the second time that the trio will be teaming up.
The film is based on a real-life tournament where an Asian football team defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment in 1911 to win the IFA (Indian Football Association) shield. Shoojit emphasises that the film takes a close look at this historical triumph of an Indian football team in a fun, light-hearted fashion. `After this resounding victory, the Mohan Bagan team was formed,` he says.
He further adds that John will be playing Shiv Das Bhaduri, a veterinary doctor who is also a footballer. `The film will be shot in West Bengal and Delhi, but the shooting will resume only after I finish my film with Amitabh Bachchan,` he says. The pre-production of the film has already begun.
