Paan Singh Tomar

<p>A reporter interviews , a in the news for killing nine people in a community. While he answers questions about himself, the story goes to a flashback starting in the year 1950. Paan Singh worked in the while his wife and mother lived in . He surprised his seniors in the army with his athletic skills. Though he was not interested in sports, he joined the sports division because there were no limits on their diet. Picked for the race’s training, he was persuaded to run for the 3000 metres by his coach. He participated in the and won the gold medal in the steeplechase event 7 years in a row. In 1958, he participated in the in but failed to win because of his inability to adjust to the only given to him in the final event. He felt frustrated when he was not allowed to go to the borders to fight in the and wars because sportsmen were not allowed to fight in them. In 1967, he participated in the and won the gold medal in the steeplechase. One day his brother came to visit him from his village and told him about some of their property being usurped by Bhanwar Singh, a relative. Paan Singh decided to retire from the army and left for his village to settle his family disputes, despite being offered a position as a coach in the army. Upon arriving home, he tried to resolve the issue with Bhanwar Singh. He even sought help from the District Collector and local police station, but no help was forthcoming. His son was then beaten up badly by Bhanwar Singh and his goons. To keep him safe, Paan Singh ordered his son to join the army and asked him to stay away from the dispute. Eventually, Bhanwar Singh and his goons tried to kill Paan Singh and his family. Most of his family managed to escape, but his mother was brutally murdered. Paan Singh decided to avenge his mother’s death. He became a who engendered havoc in the . He formed a gang of people in conflict with Bhanwar Singh. Pann Singh then went into the business of extorting and kidnapping wealthy businessmen in the area to accumulate money and an arsenal for his people so that they could become a proper gang. After making all the necessary arrangements for arms and ammunition for gang members, he arranged a major attack on Bhanwar Singh, who had police protection. Bhanwar Singh was then killed by Paan Singh Tomar after a brief chase. As an act of revenge for his brother’s death, he killed nine villagers, who became police informers and had informed the police about his hideout. This event caused a furor in the nation, administration, and also among the other gangs of dacoits who urge him to surrender so that the manhunt by the police would be called off, but he refused. The interview with the reporter ends here and was published in the newspaper, causing a sensation. The police continued their search for Paan Singh Tomar and, as a result, decided to lie low for a while. He met his family and his coach from the army, who requested him to surrender. Paan Singh refused to surrender on the principle that while he was a sportsman holding a national record, nobody stood with him when he was facing problems, and the moment he decided to stand up for himself, he was branded a rebel and everyone wanted him arrested. When the gang reconvened after a month’s hiatus, one of the members, Gopi, betrayed the gang by leading the police to their hideout. A shootout ensued where all members of the gang, including Paan Singh, were killed by a police team led by Late SP Raman, Late ASP Brij Lal Handa, Late Dy SP Yashwant Ghuraiya, and the key mastermind in whose region village Rathianpura exists, Circle Inspector Mahendra Pratap Singh Chauhan, who played the most pivotal role in putting informers in the area for Paan Singh on the night of 1st/2nd October 1981. Director first learned about Tomar while working on the set of in Chambal. Intrigued that Tomar was largely forgotten despite holding several records, he resolved to make a film about his life. Dhulia worked for the film for two years, interviewing Tomar’s surviving family members and visiting his native village in . Dhulia wanted to make the film after fully researching Tomar. After its world premiere in 2010, Dhulia was in dilemma whether he is glorifying or going to depicting his notoriety. The film was shot in the ravines of , in and in the actual barracks Tomar lived in at . To prepare for his role, Irrfan Khan trained rigorously with steeplechase coaches, even breaking his ankle at one point during the filming. He called the experience “the most physically and mentally demanding film of my career”. The music was composed and arranged by . The soundtrack was largely with western influences. was released in India on 2 March 2012. praised Irrfan Khan’s performance and wrote “Without romanticizing , he shows his basic honesty and gives him real depth. As an actor Mr. Khan rarely does the expected. You can’t take your eyes off him.”. of awarded the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising Khan’s performance and said “Directed competently by Dhulia, who’s familiar and comfortable even with the dusty terrain, is made with great attention to detail and paints an honest, realistic picture of an India few of us can claim to know.” Avijit Ghosh of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and said “Sportsmen and outlaws inhabit two different universes. One shines amidst the bright lights of glory, and the other haunts the ravines of notoriety. But in director Tigmanshu Dhulia’s biopic, , the two worlds collide. And the result is a rather exquisite blend of drama, and tragedy; altogether eminently enjoyable good cinema”. Aseem Chhabra for gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and said “The tragedy of and Irrfan Khan’s execution of the role are both compelling.” of gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and said ” shatters the standard rules of this genre. Besides, the film makes you cognizant that serious cinema can be uniformly delightful, like any other enthralling entertainer.” Blessy Chettiar of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and said, “Gritty and power-packed, is a tribute to the unsung heroes of sports in India. Dhulia’s direction and Irrfan’s integrity will make [it] among the best movies of recent times.”. of gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said ” is a completely gripping, near-flawless film, with such few dodgy parts as to be negligible.”. grossed (US$770,000) in first week. The movie managed to gross (US$410,000) in the second week. The movie collected (US$350,000) in its third week and was declared a semi-hit by Box Office India.</p>