Saala Khadoos

The boxing coach of this film takes inspiration from an unusual source—the military tactics of Genghis Khan. The strategy of the founder of the Mongol Empire was to destroy the arms, ammunition and food supply of the enemy, and then to feign retreat. When pursued, Genghis Khan would turn around and display an elaborate set of ambushes, which could encircle and trap the pursuing army.

Retired boxer and coach Adi Tomar (R Madhavan) talks about an unlikely parallel that he sees between these military tactics and boxing strategy. He is speaking to his wards, one of whom is Madhi (Ritika Singh), a talented greenhorn he has handpicked. Selected from the slums of Chennai for her natural speed and aggressive attitude, Madhi is a passionate girl who does not listen to reason. Her coach is wiser, but is similar in personality. He is a hell raiser in the Boxing Federation in Delhi, and has been sent off to Chennai as a punishment posting.

Saala Khadoos (Irudhi Suttru in the Tamil version) is the usual David versus Goliath boxing movie, a staple of Hollywood, but it comes up with moments of authenticity when it looks at the play of politics in sports and shows how government-controlled sporting federations only breed corruption, nepotism and favouritism.

The federation chief, Dev Khatri (Zakir Hussain), knows that Adi has picked a winner, but will sabotage him at every level because the straight- talking coach threatens the comfortable nest he has made for himself in Delhi. A coterie of sycophants protect Khatri’s nefarious activities, which include sexual predation.

This conflict between the sports association and the individual boxer was presented in Mary Kom, it is true. But perhaps because the lead here, Ritika Singh, is a sportswoman (a mixed martial arts practitioner) before she was cast in the role, and perhaps because the film is deliberately shorn of glamour, it does build up to a nice climax.

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Ajit Duara