Diljit Dosanjh: Hockey Should Be Given Its Due Credit & Be Considered As India's National Sport!

Diljit Dosanjh and 'Soorma' director Shaad Ali recently opened up about their thoughts on Hockey as the duo gear up for the release of their upcoming sports drama based on the life of Hockey legend Sandeep Singh.

Contrary to the popular belief, Hockey is not the national game of India. However, recently the Chief Minister of Orissa Naveen Patnaik has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to acknowledge hockey as the national game of India.

The minister made the request as Odisha prepares to host the men's hockey World Cup 2018 here in November.

Agreeing with the thoughts of Naveen Patnaik, Shaad Ali and Diljit Dosanjh who have closely observed the game for the upcoming film, opened up about their views on Hockey to be termed as the national game.

When asked Shaad about it, he said, "Though many of us already believe that hockey is a national game, its surprising that its not officially declared as one. It will definitely motivate the coming generation and the records of the all the hockey heros speak for themselves. I definitely feel it should be made the national sport."

Actor and Singer Diljit Dosanjh further added, "With Players like Dhyan Chandji, Dhanraj Pillai, Rani Rampal, Sandeep Singh and many more who have made the country proud, Hockey should be given its due credit and be considered as India's national sport."

The trailer of the film had garnered immense appreciation from across the audience. It is an inspiring true story of the human spirit, about a player, who made headlines for his miraculous comeback after an unfortunate accident.

It is a lesser known fact that, Sandeep Singh has been hailed as one of the world' most dangerous drag-flickers of all time with drag speeds of over 145 km/hr which led to his nickname, 'Flicker Singh'.

Sandeep Singh's inspiring story has had the makers keen to bring his life on the silver screen.

Earlier while speaking to DNA, Diljit had called Soorma one of his challenging roles. The daily had quoted him as saying, " It has been challenging to portray a hockey player on screen. The regime and training required to portray a hockey player were rigorous. I have engaged in a sport in my life for the first time. My director Shaad Ali facilitated Sandeep Singh's presence during my practice sessions. It was Sandeep's motivation and guidance that helped me pick up the intricacies of the game."

Soorma will feature Diljit Dosanjh essaying the role of Sandeep Singh alongside Taapsee Pannu and Angad Bedi in the pivotal roles.

Produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions, Chitrangda Singh, and Deepak Singh, Soorma is written & directed by Shaad Ali and is slated to release on 13th July, 2018.