Lalit Modi has never been short of drama. The man who built the IPL from scratch, got banned for life by the BCCI, fled to London, and somehow still managed to stay in every headline has now decided his life needs a film. Not a quiet documentary. A full Bollywood production.
Speaking in an interview with ANI, the former IPL commissioner confirmed that a biopic based on his life and the creation of the IPL is currently in development. The project is in the scripting stage, and Modi says he has already participated in “hundreds of hours” of interviews with scriptwriters to help shape the story.
Hundreds of hours. For a man with Lalit Modi’s life story, that might still not be enough.
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A surprise call, a london meeting
The most talked-about part of the interview had nothing to do with cricket and everything to do with Bollywood. When asked who he would want to play his role in the biopic, Modi revealed that Ranveer Singh had personally reached out to meet him a few years ago.
“Ranveer wants to play me. He came and saw me. I would like him to play. But if he has the time, now he’s become so big. I didn’t know Ranveer. I knew Deepika very well. And I never met Ranveer. One day, I get a call saying Ranveer wants to see you. And he comes to London to see me.”
“It wasn’t me asking him”
Modi was keen to clarify that the interest came entirely from the actor’s side. “He said in his life, if there was one role he wanted to play, it would be Lalit Modi as commissioner. That’s how that role came up. It wasn’t me asking him,” he said.
That detail matters to Modi. He is not the one chasing Bollywood. Bollywood is chasing him. At least, that is how the story is being told from his London living room.
Modi acknowledged that he is not sure whether Ranveer is still interested, given how busy the actor has become. “Without doubt, he’s amazing. And what he has done with Dhurandhar is amazing. Whether he still wants to play me or not, I don’t know,” he said.
About Dhurandhar
For those who need catching up, Ranveer Singh’s recent film Dhurandhar has been one of the biggest commercial hits in recent memory. Directed by Aditya Dhar, the film stars Ranveer as an undercover agent spearheading a mission targeting a terror network in Lyari, Karachi. Inspired loosely by real events including the Parliament attack and IC-814 hijacking, the film grossed more than five times its original budget and holds an IMDb rating of 8.6 out of 10.
The biopic’s bigger vision
Modi described the scale of the proposed film as ambitious, saying the IPL story is not just an India story. “It’s a global story, it’s a business story, and it’s a humanity story,” he said.
The biopic is being developed with a full team under Sneha Rajani, who previously ran Sony. Modi confirmed that an extensive research and writing process is currently underway.
As if one production was not enough, Modi also revealed that a television series focusing on the history of the Modi family is in development. He described his family’s past as highly dramatic. “Ours is worse than Dynasty and Dallas put together,” he said.