For a while now, Aamir Khan has been planning a film on the 2018 Spanish sports dramedy, Campeones, titled Champions. In fact, big names like Ranbir Kapoor and Salman Khan were in the running for the film, however in our last report we had confirmed that none other than filmmaker Farhan Akhtar had signed on. If that was not enough, we had also reported that the film was being readied to go on floors in October, and the team of Champions were busy working on pre-production. But, now with the announcement of Don 3, we hear that Champions has been affected. If the grapevine is to be believed, then Farhan Akhtar has opted out of the venture.
A well-placed industry source says, “Farhan Akhtar had said yes to the film, and was to lead the cast. Initially the film was to go on floors in October. But now, the same has been moved to January 2024.” Ask for the reason and the source continues, “The team is still to cast a few more members. For this they require more time and hence decided on pushing the venture by three months.” But with the announcement of Don 3, Farhan now finds himself rather busy from January 2024 onwards as he needs to work on the pre-production. Because of the clash of schedule, he decided to opt-out. In fact, he made a personal call to Aamir requesting to opt out of the project, which the latter magnanimously agreed to.
The original Spanish film Campeones, is inspired by Aderes team in Burjassot (Valencia), a team created with people with intellectual disabilities that won twelve Spanish championships between 1999 and 2014. Given this, Aamir Khan’s team feels they require the right individuals with physical or mental challenges to feature in the remake, and are currently casting for the same. Reveals the source, “Champions being a remake will need to pay close attention to the original and cannot deviate much, casting of these individuals are currently underway, which has added yet another layer to the delay in going on floors.”
As or the film, Champions is an official remake of the Spanish film Campeones and is directed by RS Prasanna with AKP [Aamir Khan Productions] bankrolling the venture. Expected to release in 2024, the makers are looking to mount the venture in January 2024.
