Mary Kom director to make another sports film on India’s rugby team

After Mary Kom (2014), director Omung Kumar and producer Sandeep Singh have joined hands for another sports based drama. Titled Yubi Lukpi, the film is based on a sport of the same name. An official statement from the makers has revealed that Kumar has been working on the film for the past two years.

It’s a Manipuri sport which is similar to rugby. But it is played with coconuts instead of a ball. Kumar said that the film is about the journey of India’s rugby team. “With Yubi Lukpi, we are tracing the journey of the Indian rugby team. Yes, India plays rugby and it’s high time the sport gets a push in the country. We are still working on the story and once (it is) complete, we will begin shooting,” he said. The film will be rolling next year.

The film will be shot in Manipur, London and Mauritius. The cast, which will be revealed later, will be selected from the local areas of Manipur.

Mary Kom was shot in Manipur, the boxer's home state. Singh said that they hadn’t planned to return to the place after that film. “Omung does wonder with sports dramas. We wanted to tell the story of rugby to the people of this country. Every sport deserves to have its story told and to have people cheering for them. We did not plan on going back to Manipur, but the story took us there. We are glad to be showing off small pockets of India producing dedicated sports people,” he said.

Following Mary Kom, Kumar had made Sarbjit (2016) and Bhoomi (2017).