Kolkata: Legendery sports journalist Moti Nandi's novel 'Bicycle Kick', based on famous football star Shyam Thapa's exploits, will be turned into a film soon. 'Bicycle Kick' will be the third sports film based on Nandi's writings after 'Striker' and 'Koni'. Koni had bagged a national award.
Young filmmaker Debashis Sen Sharma told PTI his film would be a tribute to Nandi. "My film is a tribute to the late sports scribe Moti Nandi, a legend in his lifetime, as I still remember how his writings on Shyam Thapa's movement in the opponent penalty box and the bicycle shots he often indulged in electrified his readers," he said.
The first authentic Bengali sports film 'Striker' was based on Nandi's eponymous novel on the struggle of a lower middle class nimble-footed youth's fight to get a toehold in the fiercely competitive Kolkata football arena.
It had many footages and references of Maidan football of the 70s. 'Bicycle Kick' also referred to that era. So you can call it completing the circle. Football and the Bengalis have a long connection, dating back ages," he pointed out....
more
03:29 PM, Dec 04, 2012
Strangely, all I remember of the cinematic adaptation of Koni, which I saw at least a couple of decades back, is the battle cry of swimming coach Kshitish Sinha egging on a tired protégé – “fight Koni, fight!” And yet, this is the defining peg of the story of an impoverished girl’s singular battle against odds to fulfill a dream. Kanakchampa Pal, a tomboy who jostles with boys of her...
05:51 PM, Sep 14, 2010
