Former Indian wrestler Babita Phogat, whose life story inspired the famous Bollywood movie Dangal, has made an astonishing revelation. Babita, who has gone on to walk a political path after her retirement from wrestling, turned many heads as she revealed some financial details from the movie Dangal. The Bollywood flick, starring Amir Khan, went on to shatter many box office records after its release. It is widely suggested that the movie made over Rs 2000 crore. However, Babita Phogat revealed that her family only received a sum of INR 1 crore from the makers.
“Out of Rs 2,000 crore made from Dangal, the Phogat family received only Rs 1 crore?”, Babita was asked during an interview with News 24. The wrestler-turned-politician confirmed the figure and responded with a firm “Yes.”
When asked if she or her family was disheartened upon receiving a meager sum of Rs 1 crore while the move made an exorbitant amount of money, Babita said that she and her family’s motive was only to earn respect and love.
“Nahi, papa ne ek cheez kahi thi ki logo ka pyaar aur sammaan chahiye.” (No, father had said one thing, we want people’s love and respect.)
The movie Dangal, released in 2016, featured the story of Babita Phogat, her elder sister Geeta Phogat, and their father Mahavir Phogat. The story revolves around how Mahavir Phogat turned his daughters into elite wrestlers who went on to earn several laurels for the country.
Babita herself has clinched a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. In 2014, she produced an even better result, earning a CWG gold.
She also has a bronze medal to her name at the World Wrestling Championships in 2012. She was also a part of the Indian contingent at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but failed to win a medal. In 2019, Babita quite wrestling and turned into a politician.