Filmmaker Sami Khan to Direct a Documentary On Former Tennis Ace and Actor Vijay Amritraj
- The untitled feature will chart the Indian American’s rise from his childhood in India, overcoming serious health issues, to his emergence as a top player in the 1970s and 1980s.
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sami Khan (“St. Louis Superman”) will be directing a documentary about former tennis player and actor Vijay Amritraj, Deadline has reported. The currently untitled feature will be produced by Calabasas Films + Media and Sterling Road Films. Calabasas partners Kapil Mahendra and Paul Beahan are the executive producers, alongside Prakash Amritraj and Dhaval Desai.
“The documentary will chart Amritraj’s rise from his childhood in India, overcoming serious health issues, to his emergence as a top player in the 1970s and 1980s, defeating Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, and John McEnroe in their primes,” says the synopsis of the documentary, according to Deadline.
Vijay Amritraj is a tennis icon and a successful film and television actor. Along with older brother Anand, he was an integral part of the Indian team that boycotted the 1974 Davis Cup Finals against South Africa to protest Apartheid.
He also became an actor scoring roles in the 1983 James Bond movie “Octopussy,” “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” and Viacom’s U.S. sitcom “What A Country!” He was also a regular character in the NBC TV series “The Last Precinct” and a guest star on shows including “Hart To Hart.”
“While he never won Wimbledon, his impact on tennis remains in line with some of the sport’s grandest champions,” tennis.com noted. He’s a two-time singles quarter-finalist at Wimbledon, as well as a former doubles semifinalist. He is the first Indian player to turn professional on the ATP Tour and is the highest-ranked ATP singles player from India in ATP history. He has also won the most titles by an Asian singles player (15) during his career.
He is the older brother of Ashok Amritraj, also a former tennis player, and a long-time film producer who is currently CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment.
The Amritraj siblings moved to Southern California in the mid-1970s, where they became early members of World Team Tennis – the all-star league co-founded by Billie Jean King. Vijay Amritraj played for Jerry Buss’ colorful Los Angeles Strings team before Buss took over the Lakers.
(Top photo, courtesy Rolex)