New Delhi: Babita Phogat made a surprising revelation regarding Aamir Khan’s fil ‘Dangal’ which was based on her and her sister Geeta Phogat’s journey to becoming world-class wrestlers while training under their father Mahavir Phogat. Babita revealed her family was paid only Rs 1 crore for the film which earned approximately Rs 2000 crore worldwide.
Dangal was produced by Amir, his ex-wife Kiran Rao and Siddharth Roy Kapur. The film which was based on the real-life story of the Phogat family, chronicled the journey of how Mahavir Phogat trained his daughters Geeta and Babita since childhood to turn them into top-class female wrestlers, who earned laurels for India at the international level.
During a recent interview on News 24, Babita was asked about the film which was a massive success in India and across the globe. The anchor was left visibly shocked when Babita revealed her family was paid Rs 1 crore for the superhit film. “Out of Rs 2,000 crore made from Dangal, the Phogat family received only Rs 1 crore,” the anchor asked again to reconfirm the amount to which Babita nodded and replied with a ‘”Yes”.
However, Babita came up with a gracious response when asked if the amount left her and her family disheartened. The former wrestler and current BJP leader said her father Mahavir Phogat was never concerned about money and wanted to win people’s love and respect. “Nahi, papa ne ek cheez kahi thi ki logo ka pyaar aur sammaan chahiye (No, father had said one thing – we want people’s love and respect),” Babita told the anchor.
Sanya Malhotra played Babita’s character in Dangal while her sister Geeta’s role was essayed by Fatima Sana Shaikh. The film became a hit among the masses and left many inspired by the real-life story of the Phogat sisters.
Babita Phogat’s wrestling career
Trained by her Dronacharya awardee father Mahavir Phogat, Babita made a name for herself in the wrestling arena with her stupendous achievements for the country. She won a bronze medal in the 51kg category at the 2012 World Championships before clinching gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Babita won a total of three medals – 1 gold and two silvers at the Commonwealth Games. She was also part of the Rio Olympics in 2016 but failed to win a medal. Babita retired from wrestling in 2019 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to continue her journey in politics.
