“Thought It Was Fan-Made,” Netizens Express Disappointment

On the occasion of former cricketer Sourav Ganguly’s birthday, the makers of his biopic unveiled the first-look poster. Titled Dada – The Sourav Ganguly Story, the film stars Rajkummar Rao as the former Indian cricket team captain. However, the poster has received a mixed response online, with the majority of reactions leaning towards disappointment.

The biopic has been directed by Vikramaditya Motwane. Along with the first-look poster, the makers also announced the film’s release date—May 14, 2027. Notably, the sports biopic has locked the Eid weekend for its theatrical release and will clash with Tiger Shroff and Janhvi Kapoor’s Lag Jaa Gale.

Dada – The Sourav Ganguly Story Poster

The official first-look poster captures Rajkummar Rao recreating Sourav Ganguly’s iconic jersey-waving celebration from the Lord’s balcony following India’s historic NatWest Trophy triumph over England in 2002. Widely regarded as one of the defining moments in Indian cricket history, the celebration came to symbolize a fearless new era under Ganguly’s captaincy and remains an enduring image of confidence, defiance, and belief.

However, audience reactions to the poster have largely been critical. Many felt that the artwork looked AI-generated or fan-made rather than an official first look. Others criticised the makers for putting out what they described as a low-effort poster for a biopic on one of India’s greatest cricket captains.

One user wrote, “This could be a cult, but the makers ruined it by such bad visuals.”

Another person commented, “At first, I thought it was just a random fan-made poster made using Gemini.”

Meanwhile, several users also questioned Rajkummar Rao‘s casting as Sourav Ganguly.

One person wrote, “No doubt Rajkumar is a good actor, but he seems like a misfit here. No peak detailing by the casting director.”

Another user commented, “Absolute misfit … may as well have chosen Pankaj Tripathi than choosing Rajkumar Rao Shahid Kapur could have been better suited.”

Additionally, one user recreated the official poster using AI and even credited the software, claiming it delivered a better result.

The user wrote, “With all due respect AI did a better job with the poster of ‘DADA- THE SOURAV GANGULY STORY’. It captured the time of day and gave the poster more life.”