Ex-India football captain Krishanu Dey’s biopic in the making

By Debayan Mukherjee

Kolkata, June 13 (IANS) A biopic on former India football captain Krishanu Dey is in the pipeline, his family confirmed on Thursday.

Regarded as one of the most creative play-makers in the 1980s and 90s, Dey passed away in 2003 following prolonged illness, battling severe lung, kidney and liver infections.

A first for Indian football, the biopic will be a web series available on Zee5. It is being directed by Korok Murmu. There will be eight episodes in the first season, highlighting the rise of Dey, who donned national colours in various tournaments, including the 1986 Asiad, Merdeka, pre-Olympics and SAFF Games, and led India in the 1992 Asia Cup.

Dey, who had a long stint with city football giants East Bengal, was the darling of Kolkata's football-crazy fans with his skills, silken touch and delicate through passes.

"It is a very proud moment for all of us. He never got any award despite being called the Indian Maradona. This is equivalent to an award," Dey's wife, Sharmila, told IANS.

The web series is expected to release in August coinciding with the start of East Bengal's centenary celebrations.

"They (producers) want to release the first episode in August when there will be a year to go for East Bengal's centenary celebrations," Dey's son, Soham said.

Maharashtra-based actor Anurag Urha will play the role of Dey.

"He is training hard and honing his football skills to try and look like the way my father.

"They (director and producer) spoke to some of my father's teammates to get a hang of how he was on the field and off it," Soham said.

Beginning his career in the local league with the Police team, in 1979, Dey had a two-year stint with Port Trust before joining bigwigs Mohun Bagan in 1982.

A gifted a left-footed player, Dey first played for East Bengal in 1985 and from then on, in a period of seven years, won many accolades with the red and golds including a treble (Durand Cup, Rovers Cup, IFA Shield) in 1990.

In his twilight years, Dey played for his employer Food Corporation of India, which decided to field a team in the local league.

Dey formed a lethal combination in midfield with close friend Bikash Panji.

The pair caused terror in the opposition ranks whenever they played together, with rival defenders resorting to rough tackles to keep them in check resulting in Dey becoming injury prone.

The plot of the biopic will revolve around a German lady coming to India to research on Dey. Shooting is expected to start from next week. There are two seasons planned as of now.

"They approached us in December and work started from then on," Soham added.

(Debayan Mukherjee can be contacted at debayan.m@ians.in)