‘Saina’, a biopic on ace badminton player Saina Nehwal, which is all set to release in March was almost shelved multiple times in the past, filmmaker Amole Gupte said on Monday, PTI reported. 

The movie was first announced in 2017, with actor Shraddha Kapoor finalised to play the role of the badminton player. However, the project hit a roadblock when the actor opted out of it. In 2019, Parineeti Chopra came on board to play the part.

During the trailer launch of the movie on Monday, Gupte acknowledged the support of producer Bhushan Kumar, who held on to the film even when it was heading to be put on the back burner.

“I cannot forget the solid, rock like support of Bhushan Kumar. The film was about to be shelved four times. He would ask me, ‘Don’t we have to (make the film)? I’m here.’ “That’s the strength of the man who stood behind me. Otherwise we wouldn’t have reached this (stage) today,” the director told reporters, PTI reported. 

The filmmaker refused to answer the question regarding the reason behind Shraddha Kapoor’s departure from the film.

‘Saina’ is scheduled to be released on March 26 and also stars Meghna Malik and Manav Kaul in pivotal roles.