‘Rang De Basanti’ star Kunal Kapoor is now turning producer with a biographical film on the six time winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan who is the first Indian to represent the country and compete in luge at the Winter Olympic Games.
Talking about his debut film as a producer, Kunal Kapoor wrote in Twitter, “Very happy to announce my 1st venture as a producer. The story of six time winter Olympian, the amazing @100thofasec A story, not only about resilience and the path less taken, but also about the spirit of India. And our ability to reach for the impossible with limited resources.”
In an interview to a news daily about the film and what attracted him to telling the story of Shiva Keshavan, Kapoor said, “He is an amazing athlete. What drew me to Shiva Keshavan was not only the fact that he has represented India in the Olympics six times, but that it was also a story about the spirit of India and the incredible things we manage to achieve with limited resources. It’s a story of resilience and the path less taken; it’s also a celebration of our culture and diversity.”
Kunal revealed that he has been writing stories since his days as an assistant director and now wants to bring them to life not just as an actor but also as director and producer. He has worked as an assistant director with director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra for Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Aks’ (2001).
Shiva Keshavan, also known as the fastest Indian man on ice, has not only got Asian speed record and track record in his name but is also the reigning Asian Champion. Along with being the first Indian Luger to qualify for the Winter Olympic Games Keshavan was also the youngest luge Olympian in history at the 1998 Winter Olympics. To add to his list of great achievements, he is the first winter sport athlete to win the Arjuna Award by Government of India.
Kunal Kapoor will next be seen in Disney+ Hotstar’s historical fiction series ‘The Empire’ created by Nikhil Advani. It is based on ‘Empire of the Moghul’ by Alex Rutherford. The series also stars Drashti Dhami, Shabana Azmi and Srijan Srivastava among others.