Small newspaper article inspired making of 'Dangal'

The story behind Aamir Khan starrer 'Dangal' was inspired by a small newspaper article about the father, who trained his daughters to become world class champions.

An article in 2012 about Mahavir Singh Phogat caught the attention of one of Disney's creative executives Divya Rao and inspired her to imagine a movie about the Phogats, reports Pinkvilla.

The stories behind the spark of an idea for some of our iconic movies have always been fascinating like this one which was about Mahavir's decision to train his daughters in wrestling, a game commonly perceived as a man's sport across the country, especially in a state like Haryana.

When Rao pitched the story to Siddharth Roy Kapoor and other members of the Disney team, they instantly agreed to tell it on the big screen.

The next step was to bring someone on board for penning down the story and directing it. It was then that Nitesh Tiwari came on board. He saw the soul in the story and immediately set off for Haryana to meet Mahavir Singh Phogat and his wrestler-daughters.

Once the Phogats agreed to tell their story to the world and Nitesh penned a script, Disney approached Aamir Khan to essay Mahavir Singh's character.

Khan loved the director's narration instantly and rest, we all know, is yet to be here.

The biographical sports drama film also stars Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra.

'Dangal' is slated for its initial release in the US on December 23, 2016.