Hyderabad: Actor Farhan Akhtar underwent intense training to prep for the role of Aziz Ali aka Ajju Bhai, a goon who goes on to become a national-level boxer, for Toofaan, his second film with director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, following another sports-based movie, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag in 2013.
The physical aspect of learning a new discipline like boxing was "very challenging", the preparation for which tested his mental strength to the point that he wanted to throw in the towel. "Learning a new discipline, a new sport, trying to be good at it requires a lot of focus and training. Fortunately, I had a great team who eventually came in from the US as a choreographer for the fights. So they really worked me through all of it. But mentally you have to be really, really strong.
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"There are times when you are in the middle of your training, where you are being pushed, where your body is wanting to quit but it's really your mind that's kind of telling you what it is that you're doing this for. Every ounce you give in there is to serve something which is the larger story of the film," Akhtar told in an interview.
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The film also stars Super 30 actor Mrunal Thakur, who plays doctor Ananya and Aziz's love interest, and veteran actor Paresh Rawal as Nana Prabhu, his boxing coach. Akhtar said the "driving force" of Toofaan is the incredible journey that Aziz, Ananya and Nana Prabhu are on. "There's a lot that happens. The sport is really the backdrop... it's very exciting, of course, it's cinematic, there's adrenaline, all that stuff. But the heart of the film lies in the relationships between these characters," the 47-year-old actor added.
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Toofaan, produced by Akhtar and his work partner Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment and Mehra's ROMP Pictures, is slated to be released digitally on Amazon Prime Video on July 16.
