12 Bollywood movies that celebrate sporting success

Bollywood has always had an inclination for movies based on sport. While most of them sunk without a trace, there are a few that became celluloid landmarks.

Rediff.com lists a few hits and misses.

Films based on sportspersons are becoming the flavour of the season.

Soon the Priyanka Chopra-starrer Mary Kom, produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, will be out.

Needless to say, the story of the Manipur-born Olympic medalist, who won a bronze at the 2012 London Games, will be worth watching.

There are also reports that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has given the nod for his biopic, with Sushant Singh Rajput playing the India cricket captain.

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Chak De! India (Hockey)

This is a cult sports movie. There is no sports function and prize distribution ceremony wherein the title song of the movie is not played.

Chak De! India features the rise of the Indian women's hockey team, led by former hockey player Kabir Khan (played by Shah Rukh Khan), who had been unfairly kicked out of his team. It is reportedly based on the life of former India goalkeeper Mir Ranjan Negi.

A super hit, this Yash Raj production roused patriotism and is one of the best-made sports films in B-town.

The movie sparked a craze for hockey, especially among young women.

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Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (Cycling)

This Aamir Khan-starrer is based on cycling, a discipline the actor excels in real life.

Aamir's charming performance and the last cycling competition will be etched in our memory.

He played a carefree youngster who is forced to join a cycling race after his brother gets injured. It is about how he wins against all the odds. 

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Awwal Number (Cricket)

Though this movie was a box-office flop, it was a captivating story about jealousy among two professionals.

The story revolves around cricket, where a new star, Sunny (played by Aamir Khan), had been included in the team in place of another famous star, Ronnie (played by Aditya Panscholi).

The movie had all the ingredients, with producer-director Dev Anand playing all the key roles in it.

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Lagaan (Cricket)

Aamir Khan and cricket is the common ground in Lagaan.

The film was a huge success and Lagaan received critical acclaim and awards at international film festivals.

It was the third Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Besides, it won all the awards in India.

It is based on a group of villagers who agree to play a match of cricket with the British rulers to save their village from exorbitant taxes imposed on them.

The end match is the most breathe taking moment from the movie.

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Iqbal (Cricket)

Yet another cricket-based film.

The movie details the journey of a deaf and mute young cricket-obsessed boy Iqbal's (played by Shreyas Talpade) rise to the national team.

This Subhash Ghai production also has stellar performances from Naseeruddin Shah and Girish Karnad. 

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Hip Hip Hurray (Football)

Arguably one of the best sports films made in India, Hip Hip Hurray was eminent filmmaker Prakash Jha's directorial debut.

The 1984 release had screenplay by Gulzar, and Raj Kiran and Deepti Naval as leads.

The film tells the story of Sandeep Chowdhary (Raj Kiran), a computer engineer, who takes up a temporary job as sports instructor in a school at Ranchi and turns a reckless group into a winning outfit. 

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Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Athletics)

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is based on the life of 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh, an Indian athlete best remembered for his fourth-place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

Milkha also represented Indian at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, and the 1964 Games in Tokyo.

The star of the film is Farhan Akhtar, who epitomizes the Olympian with a fine performance on screen.

The role helped Akhtar win in the 'best actor' category in all the award functions.

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Paan Singh Tomar (Athletics)

Paan Singh Tomar is based on the true story of the eponymous athlete who served the Indian Army and won a gold medal at the Indian National Games, but was forced to become a notorious bandit.

This Tigmanshu Dhulia venture had Irrfan Khan in the title role, the actor winning the National award for his outstanding portrayal of the character.

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Striker (Carrom)

When it comes to indoor games, carrom tops the list..

The metaphors of carrom form the backdrop of Chandan Arora's Striker, which travels to and fro in the 70s, 80s and 90s to draw a connection between its key player of dubious morals, his murky circumstances and his quest to find a cover for his queen without succumbing to deceit.

Siddarth is excellent as the lead, in what is one of the most under-rated performances of all times. 

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Apne (Boxing)

Having been banned from the world of boxing on false doping charges, former Olympics silver medallist Baldev Singh Chaudhry (Dharmendra) retires to a life of haunting humiliation and growing resentment.

He hopes that one of his sons will take up boxing. The elder one (Sunny Deol) eventually becomes world champion.

A badly made film in all respects. 

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Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (Football)

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal is a story of the South Asian community in the United Kingdom.

The movie revolves around a down-and-out football team, Southall United Football Club, which comprises South-Asian players.

It depicts how they go on to win the Combined Counties championship.

John Abraham, Arshad Warsi and Bipasha Basu are the star attractions.