The recent success of Kaun Pravin Tambe? a biopic web released on Hotstar April 1st 2022. The Shreyas Talpade starrer cricket biopic of 50-year-old Indian cricketer directed by Jayprad Desai, also stars Anjali Patil, Parambrata Chatterjee and Ashish Vidyarthi. The makers of the film Neeraj Pandey, Shital Bhatia and Sudip Tewari entered with Bootroom Sports with their first content being a biopic sports centric on a Maharashtrian cricketer. Their venture Bootroom Sports aspires to be present across the entire value chain of non-live engagement in sports that will bring fans to center of the sports ecosystem.
In conversation with Sudip Tewari, founder of Bootroom Sports who was a former banker and a sports aficionado with around two decades of work experience in the corporate sector. We asked him about the entire idea of the film and future developments with Bootroom Sports.
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As a maker, what kind of stories or content you are focusing on?
Being sports dedicated, our team has done extensive research over the last year or so and we have been able to finalize multiple projects to begin with in 2022. We are serious about sports, and we would like to believe that we think about sports alternately and atypically. For us it is very important that we are able to tell human stories, make them fascinating, entertaining & inspiring, and at the same time bring awareness and attention to the wider issues around sports in our country.
We want to give Indian sports stories a contemporary treatment and cover them in depth and variety like never done before and make content across multiple formats be it films, documentaries, series, chat shows/talk shows, podcasts etc.
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We have already invested heavily in our business and are currently working on stories across other sports like wrestling, kabaddi, boxing, gymnastics, badminton, running, and football. We have also acquired rights for biopics and team stories while also working on unique fictional ideas.
What are the future plans for Bootroom Sports?
The first phase of our business is content. The non-live creative sports content market is hugely under-served in India compared to markets like US & Europe and we feel there is a tremendous opportunity here to create entertaining, impactful & discernible content.
The gap that we are filling in the market is the need for new and differentiated content around sports fueled by the digital platform explosion the country is witnessing and the rising fan culture around sports in India. Be it broadcasters, studios, platforms or brands, content is king and content creators with expertise in a particular area are in huge demand. Ultimately the endeavor is to become the most skilled and trusted sports content creators in India and compete with the best in the world.
The kind of talent you would like to work with as a maker?
We want to work with the best talent in the country, right from established directors and writers to any young and hungry talent who really want to make a difference to sports in our country.
After the success of Pravin Tambe, do you think it comes with pressure and challenges for the 2nd making? What is the second project about and when is it expected to be out?
Bootroom’s first project ‘Kaun Pravin Tambe?’ is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar & has been well received. As storytellers specifically in sports, there is now a greater responsibility on us to keep telling such unique stories & continue to take the power of sports to people and inspire them.
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With the response that we have had to the film, there will now be a certain expectation from us and we will work very hard to live up to it.
Our second project will be announced soon and will be releasing in the next few months.
