Matchbox Movieworks And Boria Majumdar Collaborate To Bring Indian Sport Stories To Screen

Jyothi Venkatesh

Matchbox Movieworks, a production house, helmed by Sarita Patil, Kewal Garg and Sanjay Routray, who produced the clutter breaking film Andhadhun, will now also focus on getting yet unexplored stories from Indian sports to screen. This banner comes together with India’s most celebrated sports journalist, Boria Majumdar to work on multiple projects for OTT platforms and other media, based on his books-‘Dreams of a Billion- India and the Olympic Games’ (with Nalin Mehta) and '1971: The Year that changed Indian cricket' (with Gautam Bhattacharyya).In the growing OTT space, there is visible void of content drawn from Indian sport. This collaboration will be a big step in recreating stories of celebrated Indian sportspeople, their trials, tribulations and journeys often marked with behind the scene controversies, which are synonymous with India’s sporting evolution, documented with panache in both these works.'Dreams of a Billion- India and the Olympic Games’, provides an inside view of what goes on backstage in Indian Olympics universe, alongside a history of India’s performance. Recently, Sachin Tendulkar, Abhinav Bindra and Mahesh Bhupati had spoken of this book’s importance at its launch. '1971' is the year of Indian cricket’s original renaissance and witnessed the emergence of Sunil Gavaskar on the scene. The year India beat the West Indies and England away from home, it is the 50th anniversary of this landmark in 2021.

Talking about the collaboration Boria Majumdar, Rhodes scholar, journalist and commentator said,” I am thrilled that my books and research will be converted for celluloid by Sanjay and Sarita; producers with vision and commitment to excellence in storytelling. I trust their abilities and believe this is the perfect opportunity to bring Indian sport stories to life onscreen.”Sanjay Routray said, “Matchbox Movieworks is committed to creating original content that captures Indian stories over time. Boria’s knowledge and understanding of Indian sport is unparalleled and rarely found. We are excited to create stories from his work.”Sarita Patil added, “Indian sport has a void that should be filled with awe inspiring stories and our nation’s sporting culture. Boria’s books combined with our storytelling skills can create these stories in an engaging and entertaining manner.”