'The Biopic Was Not Real’: Mary Kom Says Priyanka Chopra Starrer Captured Only 10% Of Her Struggles
Twelve years after the landmark sports biopic Mary Kom hit the silver screen, boxing champion MC Mary Kom has opened up with a startlingly candid assessment of the film.
Speaking out immediately following her eviction from the reality show Bigg Boss 20, the six-time world champion revealed that the movie barely scratched the surface of her actual life.
“The biopic was not real,” Mary Kom stated bluntly during a post-eviction interview. “I felt some parts of the story were not real. Only 10 percent of my struggle and hard work was shown in it,” she said.
The 2014 film, directed by Omung Kumar and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, was a massive commercial success that went on to earn lead actor Priyanka Chopra a National Film Award for Best Actress.
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While the cinematic version captured her rise from poverty in Manipur to her historic triumph at the 2008 World Boxing Championships, the legendary athlete insists that the true gravity of her twenty-year career remains confined to the pages of her autobiography, Unbreakable.
“If you read the book, only then can you see my struggle and hard work,” she added.
Interestingly, Mary Kom’s reflections echo past sentiments shared by Priyanka Chopra herself. In a retrospective interview with Vanity Fair, Chopra admitted to feeling initial skepticism about taking on the role of a living, breathing North-Eastern icon.
The global star acknowledged the stark physical differences and noted that, in hindsight, the part probably should have gone to an actor from Northeast India.
However, Chopra explained that she was “greedy as an actor” to tell such an inspiring story, ultimately choosing to immerse herself in months of gruelling physical training and spending time with Mary’s family to embody her spirit on screen.
When asked if a sequel could bridge the gap and show the rest of her journey, Mary Kom firmly shut down the idea. “I don’t think there should be a sequel now; everybody knows my story,” she concluded.
