Pooja Dhanda Turned Down ‘Dangal’. Now She’s A Worlds Medallist

She may have given Aamir’s ‘Dangal’ a miss but Indian wrestler Pooja Dhanda hopes to script her own success story.

Indian wrestler Pooja Dhanda hopes to script her own success story.

(Photo: Erum Gour/The Quint)

She had the perfect look with tomboyish features and a muscular frame. An impeccable Haryanvi accent, superb voice modulation skills and the fact that she was an active wrestler meant Pooja Dhanda had passed the screen test for the role of Babita, the younger sister of Geeta Phogat in the Bollywood hit Dangal.

Aamir Khan was impressed and immediately wanted to sign her. After the initial excitement of landing a meaty role in a film close to her heart and a chance to act alongside her favourite actor, Pooja soon realised she was not enjoying the make-belief world of films.

I was bored of doing the same scene in front of the cameras over a hundred times till the shot was okayed by the director. I knew the film would do well and my life would change after its success but this was not what I wanted. I was desperate to get back to competitive wrestling in pursuit of my ultimate dream – the Olympic medal.

Pooja Dhanda

The 24-year-old became the fourth Indian woman wrestler to win a medal at the World Championship on Thursday. She also clinched a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, earlier this year.

Pooja is happy that she chose the sport over films. However, her life in the last couple of years had more twists and turns than a Bollywood potboiler.

Pooja Dhanda had impressed actor Aamir Khan during Dangal’s screen test.(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Pooja Dhanda)

While Dangal would go on to become one of the biggest runaway hits, Pooja’s wrestling career hit a roadblock. She underwent a knee surgery and was looking forward to return to the wrestling mat when she was diagnosed with blood clots in her knee joint.

It meant yet another surgery, and put a serious question mark on her career.

My world came crashing down and I was shattered. I was not sure if I could ever return to the wrestling hall. I was in Mumbai for my treatment and luckily the crew of <i>Dangal</i> was also in the same city. Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, a wrestling coach, who had first spotted me as a 16-year-old was now a key member of the <i>Dangal</i> film unit, in-charge of training Aamir Khan and the other actors. I spent a lot of time with him while recuperating and he motivated me to make a comeback.

Pooja Dhanda

“More than the physical damage to her knee, she was mentally scarred. I gave the example of Yogeshwar Dutt who had made a comeback after serious knee injuries to win an Olympic medal. I knew her knee would not be the same but I was convinced she could make a comeback,’’ says Bishnoi.

In 2017, Dhanda made her comeback after almost two years of injury lay-off. She was more mentally focused and continued to bank on her main strength – quicksilver leg work – to outwit her opponents. Winning the nationals was a big boost to her confidence.

Earlier this year, she registered the biggest victories of her career as she downed 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist and reigning world Champion Helen Maroulis twice during the Pro Wrestling League (PWL).

“I have been a big fan of Helen and I knew her strengths and watched the videos of her matches very closely,’’ she says. To prove this performance was no flash in the pan, she also outwitted yet another higher ranked opponent – Odunayo Adekuoroye of Nigeria, a bronze medallist at the World Championship. “Odunayo was completely taken aback by Pooja’s nimble feet movement. Pooja is never stationary and the way she moves on the mat is a big reason for her success,’’ observes Bishnoi.

Pooja defeated the pin-up girl of women’s wrestling in India, Geeta Phogat, in the trials to book a berth in the Commonwealth Games.

The victorious run in the PWL made Pooja an instant celebrity in her village of Gudana in Haryana.

“Its amazing how my couple of wins on the wrestling mat managed to transform the mindset of an entire village. The same people who tried to persuade my father to stop me from taking part in wrestling are now coming to him and asking how they can train their daughters in the sport,’’ adds Pooja who holds a masters degree in English.

In India, we still hold on to stereotyped images of wrestlers – people with all brawn and no brains. Yet wrestling is as much a mental sport as a physical game since you just have six minutes to put it past your opponent.

Pooja Dhanda

Pooja savours the current stardom in her village but she knows she still has a long way to go to achieve her dream of an Olympic gold. She may have given the role in a wrestling biopic a miss but an Olympic gold could well ensure a film being made on her own life.

(The author is a television producer working with different sports networks in India and abroad. He has extensively covered previous editions of Asian Games and Commonwealth Games for both print and television.)