Biopic on Mary Kom not a risk: Omung Kumar

Mumbai:  Omung Kumar, who is making his directorial debut with a biopic on Indian woman boxer Mary Kom, says he did not consider it as a risky proposition, but as an inspiring story that needed to be told.

'Mary Kom', which is set for a release on September 5, is a biopic on Olympic bronze medalist and five-time World Champion from Manipur MC Mary Kom.

"It (film) is the first of its kind being made in Bollywood... I did not think of the film as a risk. Biopics work because it is zero-to-hero story. The emotions run high.. It is a huge pull for anyone. It is not that I made this film after seeing 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'. I had the idea much before it was made," Omung told reporters.

"I started this film three and half years back before any film on sports (biopic films) was made. We had started researching on Mary Kom. We had spoken to her three and half years back about this project. Then I approached Sanjay Leela Bhansali (producer) and Priyanka Chopra and things fell in place. It may be a trend now," he said.

The story of Mary Kom was so inspiring that Omung thought it was the perfect plot for his debut film.

"Five years back I was writing my own film. I was looking for a strong woman-oriented story that an actress can't say no to. With my writers we started researching and came across the story of Mary Kom...Her journey. I had not heard about her I felt not many people also know about a five time boxing champion," Omung said.

"This was not my genre. My genre is over the top, larger than life, but I took up the challenge. I wanted to make a good cinema. I felt people will take notice of this film so I went ahead and met Mary in Manipur to talk to her about making a film on her. When we told her this she was like have you all gone mad? Later she agreed and the rest is history," he said.