Professional boxer Deepak Tanwar has landed many a knockout punch, but none does he remember with more relish than the right hook he landed on actor Vineet Kumar Singh in Anurag Kashyap's Mukkabaaz. It was a bit part — Tanwar played a boxer called Dharmpal who floors protagonist Shravan in the film's climax — but was enough to send estranged acquaintances scouring Facebook profiles. "Childhood friends, classmates from 6th standard were adding me on Facebook. 'Tu actor ban gaya hai? (Have you become an actor?)'" laughs Tanwar. "It didn't surprise my family and cousins though. When I was a child, they always told me 'You will become a hero'. Only because I spent hours styling my hair in front of the mirror." Two years since the tryst with Bollywood, Tanwar returns to the ring this Saturday, when he travels to South Korea to face hometown favourite Sung Jae Jo (10-0, 8KOs) in a 10-round contest. The 25-year-old, who turned professional in 2015 and has a 4-0 record, knows his has been a bit role in the bigger picture of Indian boxing as well. Discounting his exploits in the semi-professional Super Boxing League (he led his franchise to victory in 2017), Tanwar last fought in 2016 on a Vijender Singh undercard. "There was a lot of confusion on professional boxing and the federation. But after BFI decided to allow pros to compete at amateur level this year, I started preparing for a fight," says Tanwar. "All I tell the promoters is that the fight has to be real, fair and the opponent should be tough." Watch a scene from the film: Born and brought up in Bhiwani, aka 'Little Cuba', Tanwar decided to take up boxing after watching cousin Mahesh Kumar win an international medal, but the single child ran into fierce opposition from his parents. His father, a driver, only relented after his boss intervened. "Vijender Singh, Jitender had already come out of Bhiwani, and their fathers were also drivers. Papa's boss said, 'Why are you stopping him? Others are also boxing.'" Tanwar started strongly, winning junior and youth national titles but he believes failures at crucial points and the suspension of previous governing body meant he couldn't fulfill his potential in amateur boxing. "No matter how much money you earn, how popular you become. That feeling, of standing on top of the podium with your national anthem playing is irreplaceable. It definitely hurts to think that I missed out on such moments," says Tanwar. "I haven't given up yet. I tried for a comeback at this nationals but it couldn't happen. I will keep trying to compete in the nationals." Tanwar is also buddies with fellow professional boxers Vikas Krishan and Neeraj Goyat, and is often called upon by the former for sparring. "Vikas is like a big brother. He is also a southpaw, so there are many things that I try to copy looking at his videos," says Tanwar. "I believe he is the most important boxer in India. He's got Asiad and CWG gold, and is also 2-0 in pro fights. Now he's again in the camp and is looking good. It's a good feeling that so many of our amateurs can now consider becoming pro on the side to keep boxing." READ | Mary Kom on punches, prayers and what still drives her It was Goyat who informed Tanwar of the Mukkabaaz opportunity, and both were eventually personally casted by Kashyap. "I have seen boxing movies where the actors are fat, the punches look fake. I liked how real Mukkabaaz was. There was no action director, who would make us stop and do things a certain way. There was no choreography. Kashyap sir wanted genuine boxing," says Tanwar. "So, I didn't really have to act." Vineet, for whom it was a make-or-break project, conceived the script, sold all his belongings and moved to NIS Patiala to train for a month. "Vineet bhai was legit. All he did was watch (Mike) Tyson videos, so by the end he had this killer left hook he used to finish all combos. I told him, 'you hit me as hard as you want. Don't worry.' But he once punched me in the face so bad, cartoon ki tarah mere sar ke upar taare ghumne lag gaye (I was seeing stars)," Tanwar guffaws. "I am a boxer, from Haryana, so I had to curtail my instinct to hit back hard." Tanwar remembers the climactic showdown. "For other scenes, Vineet called me and said: 'Deepak, the movie has to be real. But thoda sambhal ke (be a little careful). I've already had a fracture, one more and the production will be postponed'," says Tanwar. "But he wanted me to go for it in that final punch. You can see, there was no air. I dodged a left, and bam! Right hook, seedha kaan ke upar." Fun while it lasted, but Tanwar has no plans of becoming a full-time actor. "Yeah, if somebody wants me to play a boxer and punch them real hard, sure. But I saw him during the emotional scenes, and it was unbelievable. Boxing is much easier. It's not easy being a hero."
