Rishi Virmani on creating 'Ghoomer' with R Balki: It started off as fiction and then found inspiration

Saiyami Kher essays the role of a para-athlete; (right) Karoly Takacs

For screenwriter Rishi Virmani, R Balki is the reason he found his calling. He remembers being an assistant director on the sets of Cheeni Kum (2007). "I would rewrite some portions of the script, and Balki would use a few lines from [what I had written]. He realised my potential as a writer and steered me towards script writing," recalls Virmani.

Rishi Virmani

In the 16 years since, Virmani has penned the scripts of Balki's Paa (2009), Ki & Ka (2016), Chup (2022) and the latest, Ghoomer. Innovative concepts dominate the director's movies, and the Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher-starrer is no exception. It tells the story of Kher's para-athlete, who rises against the odds and pursues her ambition to play in the Indian cricket team. The story idea of showing the journey of a one-handed bowler was cracked by Rahul Sengupta. It seemed almost improbable, until they found a real-life example. Virmani adds, "During research, when we were trying to gauge the plausibility of making this happen, we learnt about Hungarian Olympian Károly Takács, the right-hand shooter who [practiced the sport] with his left hand after his [dominant] hand was seriously injured. He went on to win two Olympic gold medals. It started off as fiction and then found inspiration from a real-life legend."

The writer is pleased that the sports drama has opened to praise, furthering his belief in his synergy with Balki. "When working with him, the idea is to always pen fresh stories that haven't been told before," says Virmani.