‘Phailwan is not just about Sudeep’s six pack’

Sudeep is nearly done with work on The Villain, with only two songs and patchwork left. The actor is now hitting the gym often to prepare for his upcoming film Phailwan, which is about boxing and wrestling, to be directed by S Krishna.

The director says that Sudeep has long been keen on fitness, usually favouring sports such as badminton or cricket to work his abs. But, this is the first time he is going to the gym and undergoing rigourous training to tone his body for a character. “Jeeth Devaiah has been training the actor over the past few weeks, and in another three more weeks Sudeep will have his body toned. We plan to start shooting from the end of March or first week of April,” says the director.

But Krishna is quick to add that Phailwan is not all about the actor’s six-pack. “He is training to fit into the role of a boxer and a wrestler,” says the director, who tells us that the star will be leaving with his trainer to Thailand this week. “In one of the interior villages there, he will be trained in traditional forms of boxing and wrestling. He will be doing a structured three-week-long course in parts. We felt that this will help him ease into the sport, to familiarise him with the basics of wrestling and boxing. Sudeep, too, felt that it would help him act as that character better,” he adds.

According to Krishna, the actor is just beginning to prepare for Phailwan, by shedding weight and toning his body. It will take another four months for Sudeep to get a wrestler’s bod, says Krishna. “Probably by May, we will be able to see Sudeep transformed. That’s when we will shoot the wrestling and boxing portions,” he adds.

Phailwan, made under RRR Motion Pictures, has music by Arjun Janya and cinematography by Karunakar.