US firm to produce documentary on Yuvraj

A United States-based firm will produce a documentary on 2011 Cricket World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh's life, Times of India has learnt. The documentary, to be produced by Los Angeles based Apex Entertainment, will trace Yuvraj's cricketing career besides his battle with cancer. Keeping in mind a biopic on captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led the Indian team to the 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup, is in it's final stages cricket fans across the country were looking forward to a film based on Yuvraj, who was the top performer in both the tournaments.
Fans will get to watch two movies on cricket this year with Azhar (a movie on former India skipper Mohd Azharuddin's life) and Dhoni: The Untold Story scheduled for release in May and September respectively.
Apex Entertainment has a long list of producing premier sports-based movies like The Rookie (2002), Miracle (2004), Invincible (2006), Secretariat (2010), Big Shot (2012), Gigante (2013), Million Dollar Arm (2014). These movies not only received critical acclaim but went on to become top grossers at the box office as well.
Mark Ciardi, president and co-founder of Apex Entertainment, confirmed that his firm had bagged the rights to Yuvraj's film. "I have always believed in our company's philosophy o bringing aspirational stories rom the world to you characters who overcome adversity stories that inspire minds," he said on Saturday (February 27). "Yuvraj's story is not just a cricket story, it's a human interest story.
"People like to watch greatness. He is an inspiration to a billion Indians and cricket fans globally, the way he faced odds in his life and career, the way he survived cancer and the way he fought back to earn his place in the Indian team. His story is worth telling and that's why we are extremely thrilled to have got this chance."
Ciardi, who was the brain behind movies like the Invincible, Secretariat and Million Dollar Arm and Emmy Award winning series ESPN 30 for 30, feels the rise in popularity of Twenty20 cricket also prompted his firm to make the move.
"The USA has a sizeable Indian population who follow cricket," he pointed out. "A superstar like Yuvraj Singh is widely followed especially after he came to the US for cancer treatment.
"It was one of our common friends Ash Vasudevan (Apex co-founder) who helped us connect with Yuvraj last year where he told us that he quite liked Invincible and Miracle which were produced by us and he would like a film made on his life as well. I am happy that he gave us the rights and we would do our best to not disappoint him."
To lend realism to the documentary, the Apex team will shoot widely in India besides laying their hands on archival footage available on Yuvraj sporting career. It is also learnt that Yuvraj's father Yograj Singh, who recently acted in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Singh is Bliing, and mother Shabnam will have a role in the non-fiction film, which is likely to be released next year