Legendary boxer Mary Kom has hit back at her much-talked-about biopic starring Priyanka Chopra, from which she was ousted. Bigg Boss 20 The London 2012 Summer Olympics bronze medalist at home said in a recent interview that the biopic was not real and one should read her book Unbreakable to know about her real life struggles.
Released in 2014, Mary Kom Describes the journey of real-life boxing champion Mary Kom, who became a six-time World Amateur Boxing Champion. Directed by Omung Kumar, the film won Priyanka Chopra the National Award for Best Actress.
When asked if the film should be made into a sequel, Mary Kom said that there is no need for a follow-up now.
“I don’t think there should be a sequel now; everyone knows my story. My career and journey have already been shown in the film and my book Unbreakable. However, the biopic was not real. I think some parts of the story were not real. It showed only 10 per cent of my struggle and hard work,” he told The Indian Express.
“If you read the book, you can see my struggle and hard work. I don’t know what will happen in the rest of my life, but the future will be smooth and happy. I want people to know if there will be room for love in my life. I will decide if it happens in the future,” she added.
In a 2022 interview, Priyanka Chopra said that she felt someone from the Northeast should have played the role of a Manipuri boxer in it. Mary Kom.
“When I played Mary Kom, I was initially very skeptical because she was a living, breathing icon and had created a space for many female athletes. Also, I don’t look like her. She is from the north-east of India and I am from north India and we don’t look alike physically. In hindsight, the part should probably have gone to someone from the north-east.
“But I was greedy for the opportunity to tell her story as an actor because she inspired me so much as a woman, as an Indian woman, as an athlete. When the filmmakers pushed me to do it, I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to do it,'” she told Vanity Fair.
To prepare for the role, Priyanka Chopra said she met Mary Kom and spent time with her family at her home.
“I had to train for about five months to learn the sport, which is not easy… and physically to change my body, to get into the shape of an athlete. So, physically, it was really hard, mentally, it was really hard. Because I wasn’t physically like her, I decided to embody her spirit. So, I spent a lot of time thinking about what she could do to me, what she could do to me. The choices that He has done.”
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