Actor-director Raghava Lawrence is known for his philanthropy as much as he is known for his films. In his new initiative for the differently-abled people, the actor said he will bring back a traditional Tamil gymnastic sport 'Mallar Kambam', in which the athletes perform a range of postures on a vertical pole.
Talking about the sport and the plight of his foundation's inmates Lawrence says, "'Mallar Kambam' is tough even for people with functional limbs. But when I asked my foundation's members, who were trained dancers, they said that bookings for their dance shows were on a decline and that they wanted to learn a new skill to beat the monotony and to tide over their financial crunch."
Elaborating about the sport, 'Mallar Kambam' coach Adhithyan said the sport came into being after Tamil kings were concerned about soldiers injuring themselves grievously when they wrestle as a part of war training. So a vertical pole carved out of a tree trunk came in as a replacement for training against another person.
Adhithyan, expressing awe over the dedication shown by members of Lawrence's foundation, says, "I taught them how to perform movements with a hand or a leg tied according to an athlete's limitations. To my amazement, they showed potential for a demonstration within a few weeks of training."
Addressing the day-to-day transportation challenges of the differently-abled, the Kanchana actor reveals he would gift them scooters. He then adds, "They are also feeling hard-pressed to make arrangements for paying rent, I have decided to make a film with them in which I too will star as a physically challenged person. The proceeds of the film will go into building residences for them."
When CE asked if the actor would also direct the film, he says, "I have written this story and will act, but the filming will be done by another director. An official announcement of this project will be made soon."
As a word of encouragement for his foundation's members, Lawrence said he will organise 'Mallar Kambam' events whenever he finds time and urged the public to feature this sport as a part of their college or wedding functions. When we queried if he would take more initiative to bring this sport to the forefront, he responded, "'Mallar Kambam' gains more attention when the physically challenged persons perform it. So my initiative is centred around these performers rather than the sport itself."
On the work front, Raghava Lawrence will play the lead in two newly announced projects - Hunter and Benz. Bakkiyaraj Kannan of the Sulthan fame will direct Benz, written and produced by Lokesh Kanagaraj. Venkat Mohan, who previously directed Ayogya, will direct Lawrence's 25th film titled Hunter. The actor-director also said works are going on to revive Muni franchise with Kanchana 4.
(This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)