Actor Irrfan Khan, who plays the lead in a biopic on Paan Singh Tomar, a former national steeplechase champion-turned-bandit, says some former athletes asked for money to speak about the runner.
Since the research material on Paan Singh Tomar for the film of the similar name was limited, filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia needed to approach former athletes for more info on him.
"Research was tough as there has been nothing on internet about him. He had set the national record twice. Despite this, there have been no records of him and that i fail to know why," said Irrfan.
"Tigmanshu and his writers went out to investigate about Paan Singh but people weren't able to discuss him. There are some athletes on whom films are being made, they were more fascinated with talking about themselves. There are some who even asked for money to talk...So research took a large number of time," added the 49-year-old.
Irrfan himself needed to undergo rigourous physical training for the role, in line with the lifetime of the man, who ultimately left the military and the track to become a bandit.
"Once the script was written, I needed to train myself for steeplechase under national coach Satpal Singh. I needed to learn the dialect of Madhya Pradesh. I DID NOT must discover ways to use the gun as my father had already taught me about it," said the actor.
Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, "Paan Singh Tomar" releases March 2 and likewise features Mahie Gill.
