Chess great Vishwanathan Anand has given his sanction for a biopic, Bombay Times reported. The film will be directed by Aanand L Rai, whose credits include the Tanu Weds Manu films, Raanjhanaa and Zero.

“Viswanathan Anand had, in the past, received numerous offers for a biopic to be made on him, but he had refused,” the newspaper reported. “This time, things just fell in place and Anand has given his nod.”

The movie is “still being ideated”, and no decision has been made on who will play the 51-year-old former world chess champion. The biopic will be filmed in 2021, the report added. “It will chronicle Anand’s journey — right from his childhood, becoming India’s first-ever Grandmaster, winning the world titles and all the her major milestones in a career that has spanned well over three decades,” the newspaper reported.

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