Lalit Modi is working on a biopic and wants Ranveer Singh, who had expressed interest, to star. He also revealed that threats from underworld don Dawood Ibrahim were a key reason for his retirement from cricket administration.
Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has revealed that he is currently working on a biopic based on his life. While the actor who will portray him on screen has yet to be finalized, Lalit Modi, in an interview with ANI, shared that Bollywood star Ranveer Singh had met him a few years ago in London and expressed a keen interest in playing his character in the biographical film. " There is (biopic is in works). It's all being scripted right now. I've already sat hundreds of interviews...I have a whole team under Sneha Rajani, who used to run Sony...But they're just scripting the story now," he said.
Lalit Modi on Ranveer Singh playing his character
When asked who he would want to play his role in the biopic, Lalit revealed, "Ranveer wants to play me. He came and saw me. I would like him to play. But if he has the time, now he's become so big. I didn't know Ranveer. I knew Deepika very well. I never met Ranveer. One day, I get a call saying Ranveer wants to see you. And he comes to London to see me a few years ago, two years ago."
Lalit Modi is not sure whether Ranveer Singh would still be interested in portraying him, but he continues to admire the actor's work, especially his performance in Dhurandhar. " He (Ranveer) said in his life, if there was one role he wanted to play, it would be Lalit Modi as commissioner. It wasn't me asking him. I think he's great. Without doubt, he's amazing. And what he has done with Dhurandhar is amazing. Whether he still wants to play me or not, but two years ago, we sat here, right in this house, right here, and we talked about him playing..But we are now scripting it. It's a lot of work," he added.
'Dawood problem' was reason to retire from cricket administration
Meanwhile, in a sensational disclosure, Lalit Modi revealed for the first time that alleged life-threatening intimidation from underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his crime syndicate was one of the single biggest reasons behind his decision to permanently retire from cricket administration.
Recalling a sequence of events from 2012, Lalit recounted an incident where a London-based fixer orchestrated a late-night meeting at a penthouse belonging to a well-connected intermediary named Baba. During this meeting, the intermediary allegedly called Dawood Ibrahim directly via a satellite phone from his terrace and placed the fugitive don on speakerphone to pressure Lalit Modi into facilitating an IPL franchise for the syndicate.
"I have not told this story to anybody... I'm called at 3.30 in the morning... He (fixer) says, 'You have to come and meet this guy, Baba. And you have to come now.' I thought maybe it's something important. So I go to Baba's house. There, he (Baba) says, 'You have left India, we need an IPL team.' I said I am not even in India. Why do you need an IPL team? Whoever wants to go and buy from someone can go buy it. Moreover, I'm not even going back to India; there is a Dawood problem there. To which he said, 'I will fix it in a minute,'" Lalit recounted.
"The intermediary then went out onto his terrace, took out a satellite phone, and allegedly dialled Dawood Ibrahim directly. "He goes on his terrace. He takes out his satellite phone and calls Dawood on the phone. Baba says, 'Dawood bhai, Lalit bhai aaya hai. Baat karo.' (Dawood Bhai, Lalit bhai has come. Talk to him.) I said I'm not talking. So he put the call on speaker. I again said, I'm not talking. And he (Dawood) simply says, 'You are his friend, forget everything, it is all over,'" Lalit disclosed.
The former IPL chief further disclosed that his refusal to comply triggered a relentless wave of coordinated retaliation across the globe, forcing law enforcement agencies to intervene.
Lalit Modi's career highlights
Lalit Modi is a former IPL chairman. He also served as vice-president of the BCCI from 2005 to 2010. In addition, he held key administrative roles in domestic cricket, including president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and vice-president of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA).
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