‘Laal’ to be a Tamil-Hindi bilingual film.
By Tathagata Mitra
BANGALORE: After Ranbir Kapoor in Bombay Velvet, Priyanka Chopra in Mary Kom, Sonakshi Sinha in Holiday, it is now the turn of R Madhavan to don the boxing gloves.
In his next film Laal, to be directed by Mai Ratnam’s one time assistant Sudha Kongara, Madhavan will be seen in a new avatar, in the role of a retired boxer. He will sport a beard and keep long hair to look his part. Laal is to be a Tamil-Hindi bilingual film.
The character of Madhavan has reportedly been inspired by that of Muhammad Ali. A source close to the project told The Indian Express, “The director has taken the core of Mohammad Ali’s life in the ring and added fictional flourishes to it. Madhavan who has known Sudha from the time he worked with Mani in Alai Payuthe, Kannathil Muttamital and Guru planned and plotted the film together with the director and then took nearly a year off to prepare for his part.”
Kongara studied in Mani Ratnam School of direction and worked with him in many projects.
Madhavan had to go through an arduous training for his role in Laal. He has lost 15 kilos to look like a boxer. He told the The Indian Express, “It’s been a time of a complete physical revamp for me. I’ve been in LA training and preparing for my part. My entire body structure and body language has changed. I now walk and think like a boxer.”
The actor was apparently in the United States for his training and for shooting Night of the Living Dead.
Professional boxing has never really been much of a forte when it comes to Bollywood films. Yes there have been films on karate and other martial arts but the boxing ring has very rarely been the center of attention in any film.
Most of the cast in this film are being played by real life professional boxers. Madhavan told the Mumbai Mirror: “When I got into the boxing ring for the first time, I didn’t last for even a minute. Now, I have a renewed sense of respect for boxers. It’s the most physically challenging role I have done. I’ve spent most of my time in the gym trying to look the part.”
Laal is expected to go on the floors in December this year.