Sports biopics are clearly the flavour of the season in Bollywood, and joining this list is Hawa Singh, based on the legendary boxer who is known as the Father of Indian boxing. Starring Sooraj Pancholi in the titular role, the film will be directed by Prakash Nambiar and produced by Sam S Fernandes and Kamlesh Singh Kushwaha. The first look of the film was shared on social media by Salman Khan. 

Talking about the film and casting Sooraj as Hawa Singh, director Prakash Nambiar said, “When I heard the inspiring journey of a young boy from Umarwas becoming a legend of Indian Boxing, I was moved to the core. It was a story that had to be told.”

“When we were going through the possibilities of who can play Hawa Singh, we met Sooraj. We gave him a small brief and when he came back a couple of days later all prepared for the part, we didn’t see Sooraj, we saw Hawa Singh."

Hawa Singh, a recipient of the Arjuna Award and the Dronacharya Award, had dominated Indian and Asian Boxing in his weight class for a decade. He won the gold medal in the Heavyweight category in consecutive editions of the Asian Games in 1966 and 1970, a feat unmatched by any Indian boxer till date.

Hawa Singh also created the record of being the Indian Heavyweight Boxing Champion for 11 consecutive years from 1961 to 1972.

This will mark the third film of Sooraj. He made his debut in Hero (2015), which was produced by Salman Khan, and then starred in Satellite Shankar last year.