Rajkummar Rao is set to star in a biopic on Srikanth Bolla, the 29-year-old visually impaired industrialist who made his way to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and then started Bollant Industries with funding from Ratan Tata.
Born into a family of farmers in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Bolla took the state government to court when, citing his disability, he was not allowed to pursue the Science stream after he cleared his Class X exams. He won the case and also topped his school in Class XII. And though he was not admitted into IIT coaching classes, he got into MIT, becoming the first international visually impaired student to be able to do so.
On his return from MIT, Bolla was involved with the Lead India 2020 campaign launched by the late President APJ Abdul Kalam, set up organisations for the rehabilitation of disabled people and to pursue Sustainable Development Goals, and established Bollant Industries, which makes reusable products from waste material.
The film, tentatively titled Srikanth Bolla, has been written by Sumit Purohit and Jagdeep Sidhu and will be helmed by Tushar Hiranandani, who earlier directed Saand Ki Aankh.
Talking about his character, Rajkummar Rao said, "Srikanth Bolla is an inspiration! It's indeed a privilege to play such an inspiring persona who has been through a lot of hardships and despite that has risen like a phoenix! I am really looking forward to playing Srikant. I'm happy to collaborate with Bhushan sir yet again on this compelling project."
The film will be jointly produced under T-Series Films & Chalk N Cheese Films Production LLP by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, and Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani. The film will go on floors in July 2022.
(With inputs from IANS)