Babita Phogat reveals Aamir Khan’s Dangal makers paid them just 1 crore and wanted to remove their real names from film: ‘They ignored our request…’

Babita Phogat reveals Aamir Khan’s Dangal makers paid them just 1 crore and wanted to remove their real names from film: ‘They ignored our request…’

As a lifestyle expert with a keen eye for social justice and a deep appreciation for the power of storytelling, I find myself profoundly troubled by Babita Phogat’s account of the production and distribution of the movie ‘Dangal’. It is disheartening to learn that despite the phenomenal success of the film worldwide, the family whose real-life struggles inspired it received such a meager compensation.


Babita Phogat gained widespread recognition swiftly following the blockbuster Bollywood film, Dangal, which was inspired by her life and grossed more than 2000 crores globally. Starring Aamir Khan, this movie brought in immense profits. Surprisingly, despite the film’s massive success, the Phogat family, who served as the inspiration for the story, were paid merely Rs 1 crore for the rights to their story. Additionally, Babita mentioned that the creators initially intended to omit her character from the movie. Furthermore, she revealed that her father attempted to contact Aamir Khan after the film’s success in an effort to establish an academy together, but he did not respond to his request.

During an interview with News 24, the ex-wrestler shared insights on the making of the 2016 movie Dangal and revealed what inspired the filmmakers to craft a story based on her personal experiences.

It was pointed out that a journalist based in Chandigarh had penned an article on her family, which sparked interest within Nitesh Tiwari’s group.

As she shared, the director subsequently spoke with them in approximately 2010. During this discussion, he hinted that he planned to create a documentary based on their narrative. However, as the project progressed, he revealed his ambition to transform it into a full-length movie instead.

When queried regarding the sum the movie producers paid her for using her tale, given the film’s substantial global revenue, Babita disclosed that she wasn’t compensated a large amount.

She was taken aback when it was suggested, following the completion of the tale, that her name might be erased from the movie completely and the character’s name could be altered too.

As an ardent admirer, when inquisitively probed about the exact compensation for her latest film, I playfully quipped, “What’s the one percent of two thousand billion rupees?” The interviewer swiftly responded, “Twenty crores.” A hearty chuckle escaped me, and I couldn’t resist asking, “And if I were to ask you the one percent of twenty crores?” With a curious tone, he replied, “Twenty lakhs?” I corrected him, saying, “Well, not quite so small, but roughly one crore.

After the story had been told and aired on Aamir’s show Satyamev Jayate, it was Babita who disclosed that subsequent to this, Khan’s team reached out to propose a change in the characters’ names within the story. However, her father firmly disagreed with this suggestion, stating that if the movie was to be made, it should accurately portray their real names instead.

Additionally, she pointed out that the cost for the rights had been set long before the movie’s script was completely written, representing only a small fraction, roughly 1%, of the film’s overall profits.

Additionally, Babita disclosed that the movie makers failed to heed their plea for aid in constructing a sports academy in their village following the movie’s triumph.

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2024-10-23 11:22