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What's the story?
Salman Khan revealed the first look of 'Hawa Singh' - a biopic on the legendary Indian heavyweight boxer which will feature Sooraj Pancholi playing the lead role.
The background
Captain Hawa Singh is regarded as the father of Indian boxing. He dominated the Indian and Asian Amateur boxing scenes in the heavyweight category for over a decade. His most remarkable achievements were winning a gold medal each at the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games, both of which were held in Bangkok. The gold medal double is an achievement that has not been matched by any Indian boxer to date.
The Haryana-born boxer won the heavyweight title in the National Championships for a remarkable 11 times in a row - from 1961 to 1972 - and during this period, he received the Arjuna Award in 1966.
He was over 6 feet tall and also challenged World Champion Mohammad Ali once but failed to get an opportunity to enter the Boxing ring with the legend.
Singh also set up the famous Bhiwani Boxing Club (BBC) after his retirement. The Club is a powerhouse of Indian Boxing and is famous for producing a host of talented boxers with the most well-known being Olympic medallist Vijender Singh. Other BBC products include Jitender Kumar and Kavita Chahal.
The legendary Indian boxer was known to be a strict disciplinarian and had a keen eye of spotting young talent which helped the club produce many great pugilists over the years.
Captain Hawa Singh was also conferred with the prestigious Dronacharya Award in 1999 for his immense contributions to the sport.
It is understood that John Abraham was one of the lead contenders to land the role, but Sooraj Pancholi eventually bagged the role.
The heart of the matter
Bollywood Superstar Salman unveiled the highly-anticipated poster in the following tweet -
Actor Sooraj Pancholi, who plays the protagonist in the movie, can be seen gulping down milk from a massive copper glass while being seated on a haystack in the boxing ring.
In the caption of the Twitter post, Salman Khan writes, "Hawa se baatein karega singh," which literally translates to 'Hawa Singh will fly'.
The film, that is set in Haryana, will be directed by Prakash Nambiar while Sam S. Fernandes and Kamlesh Singh Kushwaha will be the producers. Sooraj, the film's lead, will be seen essaying the role of Hawa Singh and his journey from a simple village boy to becoming the legendary boxer he was.
Captain Hawa Singh's son, Sanjay Singh - who is a boxing coach himself - was also in Mumbai to train Sooraj and help him portray the struggle of his father on screen.
The film's director Nambiar told IANS:
“The manner in which a young boy from a small village Umarvas transformed himself into a champion boxer is inspirational. Sooraj is young and fits like a glove into the character. His efforts, approach and honesty towards the role and this motivating story surprised me and made my belief in him stronger.”
Salman Khan continues to support Sooraj Pancholi's career and was also the producer of his debut film 'Hero,' back in 2015.
What's next?
Sports biopics have undoubtedly become the flavour of the season. Kangna Ranaut's Panga got critical acclaim while Tapsee Pannu's biopic on Indian women's cricketer Mithali Raj - Shaabash Mithu - is also in the pipeline. Another sports biopic titled Maidaan will be released this year and is based on the life of Syed Abdul Rahim with Ajay Devgn playing the role of the legendary football coach.
Sooraj Pancholi will have a tough task at hand portraying the two-time Asiad gold medallist and national champion on-screen. It remains to be seen if he will be able to do justice to the role. The first look poster, however, looks great. The film is likely to be released in August this year. Pancholi's last film 'Satellite Shankar' was not received well and he will be looking to give it his all for the upcoming biopic to ensure it is a hit.
