What she thought was a prank call, changed her life. That’s how life turned around for the tomboy boxer in Saala Khadoos, Ritika Singh. Known for her candid acting skills, she was stunned when the movie with Madhavan found a place in the National Awards list. This would not have happened if she would not have bothered to find out who the “prankster” was. “When I got the call for Saala Khadoos, I was at a very low point in my life. I had lost the biggest and the most important fight of my career. Everyone thought that I would win that tournament, but I lost my first fight because I had a very bad knee injury. I was very disappointed with myself. That’s when I got the call. The voice from the other side of the phone said, “Hi Ritika, Madhavan here.”
Not having the slightest idea what would follow, she asked non-nonchalantly, “Who Madhavan?”. “He said, ‘Ranganathan Madhavan, the actor.’ I was very excited and I said ‘Yes Sir, but why are you calling me?’ I was so excited and happy. I was sad at the same time because of the fight. He finally said that he was making a film on boxing and he wanted me to be a part of it,” she recalled. And that’s how her worst day in life slowly turned into the best day of life. “I thought they will need me for one or two fight sequences, but when I read the script my reaction was ‘When are we going to start?’ I said let’s start shooting right away. I was really excited,” she said. Her second film, in Tamil, with Vijay Sethupathy is almost done and offers are flooding in.
Safe to say that looking back has not been an option since that day, but she also maintains that she will never stop training again. “As much as I would love to act in movies, boxing stays for life. That’s who I am and I can never leave it,” she says. Maybe that’s what sets her apart from the other actors. Or maybe not. Only time can tell. Apart from all this something tells us that Ritika Singh, who wears dusty leather jackets to press meets and still attracts so many cameras, is here to stay.
The First Call
I thought they will need me for one or fight sequences, but when I read the script my reaction was “When are we going to start? I said let’s start shooting right away”. I was really excited
Reach out: Twitter handle – @ritika_offl