Dangal may have been a hit that continues to win the hearts of people
all across India. However, the former coach PR Sondhi was hardly
amused with the movie.
PR Sondhi, the real coach of the Phogat sisters, is peeved with the
makers for showing a character modelled after him in a negative light.
Sondhi is aware of the fact that there were fictional events added in
the film to make it more entertaining, but it should not have been at
his expense.
Sondhi is upset with the last scene of the film which is purely
fictional – the coach is seen locking Mahavir in a room during the
Games so that he is not able to cheer for his daughter. He
says,
“Distortion of facts has hurt my reputation. Once I watch the
film, I will speak to the wrestling federation. I also plan to meet
Aamir and seek an explanation.”
The coach states,
“They have changed my name to PR Kadam in the film,
but somewhere the character is loosely based on my life. I have known
Mahavirji for many years and he is a thorough gentleman. His two
daughters have trained under me for more than three years and not once
did he interfere. I don’t understand the need to show the character as
such a taskmaster. There were four other coaches, who were also
involved in the training, but they haven’t been shown in the film at
all.”
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According to Sondhi, Aamir asked him questions about wrestling, but he
never discussed anything about the film with him. He would rather have
them explain his character in the film than just blatantly portray him
in a different light.