Babita Kumari Phogat and her elder sister, Geeta Phogat became national sensations after Bollywood made a film based on their lives. The film, Dangal was released in 2016, featuring the sisters’ journey to fulfil their father's dream of turning them into professional wrestlers. Starring Aamir Khan as the father, Mahavir Singh Phogat, the movie broke box office records and became a blockbuster on a global scale, earning more than Rs. 2000 crore. However, Babita Phogat recently claimed that her family was paid a negligible amount for this biographical success.
Babita Phogat, played in the film by Suhami Bhatagar (young Babita) and Sanya Malhotra (old Babita), recently appeared for an interview with News 24, detailing her experience of having her life featured in a successful film like Dangal. She recalled how the filmmakers became inspired by her story. Babita shared:
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“A journalist from Chandigarh had written an article on us. After reading it, Nitesh Tiwari’s team approached us. Then the director himself came and spoke to us all. At that point in time, he just told us that he would make a documentary on us. This was around 2010. But, later after writing it, he shared he would like to make a film.”
Former Indian professional wrestler, Babita Phogat was asked about the payment that her family received in return for the rights to their story. The former wrestler appeared a little hesitant to openly talk about this topic. She reluctantly replied that the amount they received was nothing compared to the total earnings of Dangal. Phogat also claimed that the makers wanted to change the names of the characters. In Babita’s words:
“I didn't get a lot of money. I got very less money. You will be surprised to know, after the entire story was written, they were even having a discussion to remove my name from the film altogether. They wanted to change the character’s name in the film.”
Babita Phogat seemed hesitant to reveal the exact amount that she received from the makers, but after a little more probing, she hinted at the exact amount being around Rs. 1 crore. Compared to the overall earnings made by the movie on a global scale, which was reportedly more than Rs. 2070 crore, the amount offered to the family amounted to nothing. In some earlier reports, it was revealed that Babita and her family had been paid Rs. 80 lacs for the story’s rights. However, the fees had been decided much before the movie’s work started.
Later on in the interview with News 24, Babita Phogat recalled that her father, Mahavir Singh Phogat wanted to open a proper academy in their locality for wrestlers, which would have cost him around Rs. 5 to 6 crores.
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After Dangal became a huge success and inspired millions, Mahavir approached the team of creators requesting the same. In Babita’s words:
“After the film’s success, my dad spoke to Aamir’s team and requested them to help us open an academy in Haryana for wrestlers, but that was ignored. It takes about Rs 5-6 crore to open a nice academy.”
Dangal is based on the story of Mahavir Singh Phogat, an amateur wrestler from Pehlwani, who teaches his daughters, Geeta and Babita Phogat, to become elite female wrestlers. Despite societal stigma, veteran wrestler, Mahavir Singh Phogat chooses to train his daughters for the Commonwealth Games to accomplish his ambition of earning a gold medal for his nation. Dangal is still the first Indian movie to earn over Rs 2000 crore. It was written and directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, and Siddharth Roy Kapur.
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