Babita Phogat Drops Bombshell: Reveals Dangal Makers Paid Her Family Only ₹1 Cr from ₹2000 Cr Earnings

Nitesh Tiwari's directorial marvel, 'Dangal' which came out in 2016, made Geeta and Babita Phogat household names. The movie went on to earn ₹2,000 crore globally and was one of the biggest hits produced in India, according to records. However, in a recent interview with News24, wrestler turned-politician Babita Phogat revealed how they were approached for the film and the events that took place, including being compensated less. 

In the interview, when asked about how it all started in terms of the filmmaking process, Babita said that an article was written about them by a journalist based in Chandigarh. It was only after reading the story that the director's team contacted the family. The director later visited Babita and her sisters at the Patiala camp and also met with her father, Dronacharya award winner, Mahavir Singh Phogat.

She further went on to reveal that Nitesh Tiwari did not mention making a film to them at that point but only said that he was thinking of making a documentary. 

It was only later that he told them that he was going to make a movie based on their lives and the script had already been prepared, which was eventually narrated to the family. 

Babita, when asked how much money they received from the makers of the film for selling the rights, revealed that it was "less than 1% of 2000 crores" and after hesitating for quite a while responded with a round figure which was around ' Rs 1Crore".

She also stated that her father had requested Amir Khan's team to help the family open a wrestling academy in Haryana but the team never bothered to communicate about it. 

She also said that before Aamir got on board with the film, the family was invited to appear on his show 'Satyamev Jayate' where he interacted with them. A while later after he signed the film, Babita disclosed the fact that they were contacted by the actor's team and were interested in "changing the name of the characters." It was Mahavir Phogat who put his foot down to this and said that if the story does get made, it should be made with real names.