Paan Singh Tomar

Paan Singh Tomar is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language biographical film about Paan Singh Tomar, a soldier in the Indian Army and seven-time national steeplechase champion, who later became an armed rebel against the system. The film is directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and produced by UTV Motion Pictures. Irrfan Khan played the title role, with Mahie Gill, Vipin Sharma and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the supporting cast. Made on a shoestring budget of , Paan Singh Tomar premiered at the London Film Festival in 2010. Two years later it was released in domestic theatres on 2March 2012 and was a hit at the box office, with worldwide gross of . The film won Best Feature and Best Actor at the 60th National Film Awards. Plot A reporter interviewed Paan Singh Tomar, a baaghi in the news for killing nine people of a community. Answering questions about himself, the story goes in a flashback from the year 1950. Paan Singh worked in the Army while his wife and mother live in Morena. 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 5000 meters race's training, he was persuaded to run for the 3000 metres steeplechase by his coach. He participated in the Indian National Games and won the gold medal in the steeplechase event 7 years in a row. In 1958, he participated in the Asian Games at Tokyo, but failed to win because of his inability to adjust to the track spikes 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 1962 and 1965 wars because sportsmen were not allowed to fight in them. In 1967, he participated in the International Military Games and wins 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.