A biopic on the legendary Indian boxer, Captain Hawa Singh, who had mentored Olympic champ Vijender Singh, is in the works, and as per TOI, John Abraham is likely to play him on screen. Hawa Singh’s is the latest name to emerge amid a spate of biopics to hit Indian cinema halls, and others which are in the works. After enrolling in the Indian army at the age of 19 in 1956, Hawa Singh had gone on to dominate the national circuit, winning eleven consecutive heavyweight championships from 1961 to 1972 – a record that stands to this day. He also won gold medals for India at the Asian games in Bangkok in 1972.
Producer Sam Fernandez, who had previously worked with Vidhu Vinod Chopra and 20th Century Fox confirmed the news about the biopic saying, “Yes, I am making a biopic on Captain Hawa Singh. This is not the story of an underdog, but a champ, who was never defeated in the ring but lost to politics.”
It was politics that had obstructed the champ’s road to the Olympics, and his dream of fighting Mohammad Ali remained just that, a dream. Despite these setbacks, Hawa Singh never turned his back on the sport and founded the Bhiwan iBoxing Club after retirement, which has produced Olympians like Jitender Kumar, Akhil Kumar, and bronze-medalist Vijender Singh. In another sad turn of events, Hawa did not live to see his student’s Olympic glory. The makers plan to approach Vijender if the script demands it.
Given that Hawa Singh was a behemoth of a man at 6’1” tall and built of pure muscle, John seems the best choice to play him. Speaking about portraying the boxer on screen, John said, “We are both six-feet-one and weigh 94 kgs. His son, Sanjay Singh, daughter-in-law and two grandkids, came to see me. I've not signed it yet but the family, Sam, and I are all very excited about this project.”
