Is
Victory
based
on
Dhoni
or
Sehwag's
life?
Does
Harman
Baweja's
character
in
the
film
bear
a
striking
resemblance
to
these
two
icons?
That's
the
rumour
floating
around!
"Not
true,"
Victory
director
Ajitpal
Mangat
clarifies,
"The
only
similarity
is
that
like
some
of
our
cricketers,
Vijay
Shekhawat
[the
role
enacted
by
Harman
in
Victory]
hails
from
a
small
town.
In
fact,
I'd
say
it's
the
story
of
an
underdog,
who
rises
from
ashes
to
glory."
Victory
is
a
make-or-break
film
for
both
Ajitpal
and
lead
man
Harman.
Having
dabbled
in
acting
and
later,
directing
ad
films,
Ajitpal
decided
to
try
his
hand
at
film-making.
"The
script
of
Victory
was
ready
way
back
in
2000.
Much
later,
when
I
narrated
the
story
to
Manmohan
Shetty,
my
mentor,
he
suggested
that
I
should
not
only
direct
the
film,
but
also
produce
it.
Manmohan-ji
also
suggested
Harman
for
the
project
and
when
I
met
him,
I
knew
I
had
found
Vijay
Shekhawat," Ajitpal
says.
Getting
cricketers
on
board
was
tough,
but
once
Ajitpal
signed
Brett
Lee,
it
was
easy
convincing
other
cricketers.
Come
to
think
of
it,
he
could've
cast
actors
in
those
roles.
"I
wanted
the
matches
to
look
authentic.
With
actors,
it
wouldn't
have
looked
natural.
That's
why
I
chose
real-life
cricketers
for
those
parts,"
he
reasons.
So
why
Harman?
Why
not
someone
like
Dhoni
in
the
central
role?
"Most
of
them
may
be
fabulous
cricketers,
but
they
aren't
good
actors,"
he
smiles.
Harman,
labeled
a
Hrithik
look-alike,
will
now
face
Hrithik
and
Farhan
Akhtar
[Luck
By
Chance]
on
30th
January.
What
are
the
prospects
of
Victory
then?
"There's
space
for
everyone.
I
genuinely
believe
that
two
films
can
co-exist
easily.
I'm
sure,
they've
made
a
good
film.
Victory
is
great
as
well,"
he
says.
Story first published: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 13:45 [IST]