Sumo Didi: Director Jayant Rohatgi on Hetal Dave

Some stories sound too unlikely to be true. A young woman, constantly judged for her body, finds her calling in a sport most Indians have never watched. That’s the real-life journey behind Sumo Didi, and its director has opened up about how he brought it to the screen.

Sumo Didi : Overview

Detail	Information
Film	Sumo Didi
Based on	Hetal Dave, India’s first and only professional female sumo wrestler
Director	Jayant Rohatgi
Writer	Nikhil Sachan
Producers	Akash Chawla and Joy Sengupta (Freshlime Films)
Where to watch	Zee5
Key themes	Body acceptance, ambition, family pressure

The film follows a young Hetal who faces body-shaming, societal judgment and family pressure to lose weight and marry, then discovers sumo by chance.

How the Story Reached the Screen?

The idea began small. Hetal’s story first caught the attention of the writer and producers through a newspaper article, and Jio Studios had already green-lit the film when Jayant came on board. The director says the truth felt stranger than fiction. He started by imagining an ordinary day in her life and asking what it takes to keep going when few believe in you.

Sports Biopic or Body Positivity Film?

Jayant approached it first as the story of a person chasing an extraordinary dream, not a message film. Body positivity, he explains, emerged naturally through her journey. The struggle was also internal, because years of judgment can make you doubt your own limits. For background on the sport itself, see the Sumo Wikipedia page.

Keeping the Athlete Front and Centre

He was aware the message could overshadow her sporting identity, so authenticity mattered. Professional sumo wrestlers were cast alongside the lead so the ring encounters felt credible, and the team filmed in Japan before shooting the bouts to recreate an international tournament atmosphere. The idea is simple: when you respect her as an athlete, her body gets seen differently. pinkvilla

The Mother Isn’t the Villain

One of the film’s most human choices is Hetal’s mother, Sudha. Jayant says he never saw her as an antagonist. She loves her daughter deeply, but her idea of safety was shaped by her own circumstances, including limited income and watching relatives’ marriages succeed or unravel. Marriage is the only route she knows and trusts.

Their deal to give sumo one year captures the tension. Both believe they’re fighting for Hetal’s future, which is what makes the bond moving.