Farhan Akhtar, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on Toofan: It's Much More Than a Sports Film

After Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Farhan Akhtar have come together for Toofan, a film about a boxer who start restarts his career after a five year ban on boxing. On Wednesday, the trailer of the film was launched which showed the journey of a goon who deicides to live a life of respect by becoming a boxer.

To release the trailer, the team of Toofan including Farhan, Mehra, lead actress Mrunal Thakur, actor Paresh Rawal, producer Ritesh Sidhwani and Amazon Prime Video head Vijay Subramaniam got together for a virtual press conference. The team talked about the making of the film, their characters, and the training that went on to prepare Farhan and Rawal for their roles as professional boxers.

In the press-conference, they were asked how the film stood out from the rest of the sports films that exist or are in production in Bollywood. Farhan, Sidhwani and Mehra talked about why Toofan is much more than a film about boxing.

“All of us, in life have been guilty of one thing in life which is judging someone based on certain labels that come attached to them. If you break it in very broad terms, there is religion, caste, skin colour, social demographic, education level etc. When you tick three or four boxes, you assume a person is a specific way. We have all been guilty of that. What this film does is that it challenges that specific notion. Firstly there is no point in judging anyone. When you want to understand or get to know someone, it cannot be on such a broad and generic set of labels. It is important to take the time and get to know a person individually,” Farhan said.

He further added, “In this film, the underlying tone is, to put it in a clichéd way, to not judge a book by its cover. That’s where a person like Ananya, who is played by Mrunal is such an important catalyst in anyone’s life. Everyone needs a person who gives them a sense of belief in themselves. Who gives you the sense that you can be more than what the world tells you who you are. Because everyone has a talent, it might be untapped for their entire lives. But everyone has something they can offer the world if they have the right system to do so. It is about how an individual can reach their potential by breaking the barriers of cultural stereotyping, by finding the right person who believes in them.”

Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra echoed the sentiment, saying, “I don’t want to give away the plot because the joy of discovery should always be with the audience. However, Toofan is a film that works on different levels. There is sports, love drama. There is the Guru-Sishya Parampara, there is the bond between a father and a daughter, and a father and his son. There are many different layers which together form this film.”

Producer Ritesh Sidhwani, who has bankrolled the film with Farhan under their company Excel Entertainments, said that the team stood by the story because the message stayed with them. “Toofan is the story of a young guy living in the suburbs of Mumbai who survives using his fists and then gets an opportunity of his life to use that talent somewhere else. It is his journey and it is very inspiring. The movie engages you and entertains you. There is boxing, there is a love story but at the end of the day it leaves you with a thought as well. That’s what Toofan is about. It is not just a boxing film. It’s the story about an underdog and the hurdles he faces when he decides not to take the easier way. That’s what stayed with us,” he said.

Toofan also stars Supriya Pathak Kapur, Hussain Dalal, Dr. Mohan Agashe, Darshan Kumaar and Vijay Raaz in pivotal roles. It will premier on July 16 on Amazon Prime Video.

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