Padma Shri Kaur Singh: The forthcoming Punjabi movie will enter a rare space in the Punjabi film industry.

It isn't a surprise as to why rare and novel subjects are not tried on a regular basis in a flourishing Punjabi film industry. Speaking precisely about sports biopics, the number of movies made are as scarce as hen's teeth.

While this particular genre of filmmaking is yet to find its audience in Punjab, writer-actor-producer Karam Batth considers himself fortunate to have played the role of former Indian boxer Kaur Singh in his forthcoming movie titled 'Padma Shri Kaur Singh'.

"It's an honour. I consider myself very fortunate that I've got this opportunity. There's a certain value attached to Kaur Singh's name and to make a movie on him and play his character on-screen means to lot to me," Batth told Punjabi Mania in an interview.

Batth, a Canada-based artist who had to work significantly hard to attain the shape of a boxer, will be making his acting debut in the movie. Batth further disclosed that he was preparing for the role physically and mentally simultaneously.

"Vikram Pradhan [director] and Jia Thakkar [co-producer and associate writer-director] used to visit his [Kaur Singh] village [Khanal Khurd] from time to time. They used to maintain notes and narrate me afterwards. While I was preparing myself [for the role] physically in Canada, all my mental preparations happened through Vikram ji," Batth added.

Padma Shri Kaur Singh had fought with Muhammad Ali in 1980

In addition to winning gold medals in various Asian Games and later being conferred with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India, Kaur Singh is famously known for combating against legendary boxer Muhammad Ali in an exhibition match in Delhi.

Speaking precisely about shooting this fight, Batth divulged how it was among the most difficult days on the sets of Padma Shri Kaur Singh. From an arena which required the presence of around 1,000 people to unprecedented delays, Batth explained how he himself had to convince people to not lose patience.

"We had called some 1,000 people on the sets that day. Since we had to shoot the arena sequences, there was a lot of rush on the sets. There was a time when managing them had become out of control. Additionally, there were some delays on a hot day which further made things difficult. With those people losing out on patience especially after the afternoon, I personally had to convince them to wait till the time we don't complete the shoot," Batth further said.

Batth, who remains unperturbed about the financial success of Padma Shri Kaur Singh unlike other producers, is satisfied with the prospect of bringing this story on the celluloid on July 22. Having made a movie for all types of audiences, Batth is hopeful of people responding positively to Padma Shri Kaur Singh.

"Any regular producer is afraid of losing money. However, by the grace of god, my primary source of business isn't filmmaking. I have produced this movie to bring forth the story of an underrated hero of Punjab on the big screen. The world should know than an Indian named Kaur Singh had fought with Mohammad Ali back in the day," Batth concluded.