Why Ritika Singh Was Chosen in Rajkumar Hirani's 'Saala Khadoos'

Ritika Singh is soon going to make her Bollywood debut by starring opposite R. Madhavan in Rajkumar Hirani's sports drama film, Saala Khadoos or Irudhi Suttru (English: Final Round). The casting of the lead actress was a tough job for the production crew.

Saala Khadoos is written and directed by Sudha Kongara and the director, along with Hirani, wanted an actress who knew a thing or two about boxing. UTV Motion Pictures recently released the first trailer of the upcoming film, which has so far crossed more than one million views on YouTube. With that, everyone is talking about the newcomer, Singh.

According to Yahoo News, Singh, who is a boxer in real life, was chosen from amongst 100 athletes who auditioned for the lead role in Saala Khadoos.

A spokesperson close to Hirani said that the producer, who is famous for directing critically and commercially hit films like Munna Bhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai and 3 Idiots, chose a national level boxer over an actress the play the lead in the movie.

"He felt the fights required stamina and intensity, and only a real boxer could make them look real. So, the entire team set out on a hunt for one. They auditioned over 100 boxers and attended over 700 boxing matches all over the country, before they finalised the female lead," the spokesperson added.

According to Indian Express, the auditions lasted a couple of months and after that the team found Singh to be the perfect person for the role. Singh is a national level kickboxer who also holds a black belt in Karate and is also trained in mixed martial arts. Her body language in the released trailer truly shows the fact that she is not only playing her role, but also she knows when to and where to punch.

The film is slated to release on Jan. 29, 2016.