Dil yeh ziddi hai is playing on loop in Omung Kumar’s swanky Parisian-themed suburban office. The excitement around him is only natural, as his directorial debut, Mary Kom, has been creating the right kind of buzz. The promos have been lauded. The songs have been appreciated and everyone seems to be waiting for Priyanka Chopra’s tough act with bated breath. “I’m all things excited right now,” he smiles as I sit on the quaint wooden chair across him. Looking around at the beautiful paintings hung on the pearly-white walls of Omung’s office, one wonders why a creative junkie like him, who’s been responsible for the grand sets of award shows and films like Saawariya and Black, decided to make his first film on boxing icon, Mary Kom. “When I thought of making a movie five years ago, I wrote an opulent script with much grandeur. But it was too costly for that time. It was a big-budget hero-oriented film. I may make it at some point. But for my first film, I wanted to challenge the norm. So, I told my writer (Saiwyn Quadras) to hunt for a female-oriented theme for a biopic. My first film had to have a role no actress could refuse. I wanted it to be her Mother India.” Historical personalities like Rani Jhansi and even Queen Elizabeth came up for discussion but Omung wasn’t inspired.

In fact, the first time the director heard about boxer Mary Kom, he brushed off the idea. He didn’t even know about her. “But when Saiwyn told me she was an Indian boxing champion, I looked her up. After reading up on her, I felt ashamed that I didn’t know this five-time Indian world boxing champion. So what if I didn’t follow boxing? The woman brought pride to the nation! Sadly, many were unaware about her existence.  That’s when I decided that a movie on her life would be my debut film.” Soon enough, Omung was off to Manipur to discuss the idea with Mary Kom herself. “The first thing she said was, ‘You’re joking, right?’ She couldn’t believe someone wanted to make a movie on her life. She’s as unassuming as they come. But all it took was one meeting to get this project going. I was thrilled.”

When something has to fall into place, it magically does. That’s also how producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali came on board. “Sanjay and I go way back. We’ve worked together too. While I was working on this script, Rowdy Rathore had just been declared a hit. So when Sanjay asked me what I was doing, I simply told him, ‘I know you’ll make a Rowdy... but you’ll never make this.’ I was wrong. When he heard the story, he immediately signed me on because this film is neither his style nor mine. So he knew we’d do something great together.” As for Priyanka, Omung swears the actress was his first choice contrary to speculation. “In our industry, you can count the actresses who can actually perform on your fingers. Yes, other names were thrown in but I wanted her. In fact, Priyanka too was sceptical at first. She loved the script but after the narration when I was on my way home, she called and said, ‘Do you think I can do this?’ I replied, “If someone can do this, it’s only you and no one else. Priyanka was my only choice.”

He’s not bothered by the criticism he invited for that either. “Yes, people have been wondering why I didn’t cast a North Eastern girl who resembles Mary Kom. But so what if Priyanka isn’t a Manipuri? I am not talking about just a Manipuri person. I am talking about an Indian girl who’s a role model to many. When you watch the film, you won’t miss it. Also, if Ben Kingsley can play Gandhi, then why can’t Priyanka play Mary Kom?” he retorts. “I could have taken a new actress and made a smaller film. But it would’ve had a lesser reach. Hence defeating my purpose of making sure Mary Kom’s story reaches out to as many people as possible. Having Priyanka in the film just means many more people will watch it, many more Indian girls will be inspired by it and many more people will be proud of it. So without batting an eyelid, I’d do it all over again. A movie like this needs a commercial platform.”

Though he stands by Priyanka as his choice, rumours have been rife that the actress was allegedly interfering during the making of the movie. After a considerable pause he says, “Yes, Priyanka is a finicky actress. I’ve known her for a while. Even if she’s performing on stage, she’s completely involved with her costume and choreography, etc. She puts in her bit. If an actor has an opinion, he or she will say it. Other directors may not take it. But I did because friendship ke level pe ho raha tha and because we were in it together to make it better. But...” he stresses, “There were only healthy discussions. She never refused to do something. If she didn’t get a scene, I’d push her to do it. At some point, I’ve even acted scenes and shown her what I wanted. She calls me an actor’s director for a reason. This is a role of a lifetime. Though it was emotionally draining and physically tiring, I can gladly say that Priyanka has given it her all.” So there were no tantrums? “People get pissed off when you’re in a creative space. Anyone who’s worked or does work in a creative environment will know this.  I have an advertising background too so I can vouch for it. Also, this may be my first film but I have been on enough movie sets to learn the craft and know how things function. On my movie, nothing ever went out of hand.” 

Ask him about the reports that the film got delayed because of creative differences between him, Priyanka and Bhansali and pat comes his reply, “We didn’t have Priyanka’s dates. She was doing, Krrish 3, Zanjeer and Gunday at the time, which is why I only got 20 days to shoot the boxing scenes last year. I could have not shot for those 20 days and done the whole chunk right now. But I wanted to start my film. After that we had to take a break because she got busy with other things. She also needed to get back into shape. It was always planned like that.” The director continues in the same breath, “As a matter of fact, it’s commendable that Priyanka even agreed to shoot for the film immediately after her father (the late Dr Ashok Chopra) passed away. This is a tough role, you have to box, get into shape. And she has done it twice over.”

Tell Omung that if this film does well, it will open the doors for many sports films in India and he grins, “It’ll be great if that happens. But Mary Kom is a human story. It’s a journey of a woman and her love for boxing. It’s a film, which will have a universal appeal. A few close people who have watched the film have cried and told me that they felt motivated, touched and proud after watching it. There are five points in the film that I know will make everyone cry. Whoever has seen it, has cried on exactly those moments. I’ve orchestrated it like that. A human story, if told right, can touch everyone’s heart. And Mary Kom most definitely will,” he smiles. As overconfident as that may seem,  the director begs to differ. “I know you may feel I sound arrogant. It so happens that sometimes you believe you’ve made a good film but people don’t like it and then you’re left wondering where you went wrong and why you couldn’t see it. But this is not one of those films. This is a film I’m confident and proud of. The blood, sweat and tears of many have gone into making this film. I’m quite sure it’ll pay off.” We hope he’s right.