MMA fighter Yadwinder Singh gives his team a taste of akhada wrestling

A new four-part web video looks at real-life wrestling and follows the journey of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter Yadwinder Singh, who takes Team Relentless to his village in Punjab

  With Sultan ruling the silver screen, and Dangal set to release later in the year, wrestling seems to be the flavour of the season. Bhangra beats form the background score of the first scene of the first episode of a web video, MMA to Akhada. Produced by 101 India, the video is part of their special project 101 Roots. “We tell offbeat stories, largely targetted at the youth. The tracks are tangential and we try to stay away from mainstream concepts. With 101 Roots, we wanted to tell stories that take you back to your roots. It could be music, stories or in any other form,” says Cyrus Oshidar, managing director and chief creative officer of 101 India.

Chaitanya 'Dangerous' Gavali (right) with Punjabi wrestler Mandeep (left)

MMA to Akhada is the first in a series of films that we have planned. Earlier, we had profiled the Mumbai-based MMA team called Relentless which did very well. They have world-class MMA fighters of whom Yadvinder Singh, one of India's top fighters, trained in an akhada in Punjab during his initial years in wrestling. He offered to take his team to his village and expose them to the desi style of fighting,” he adds.

Team Relentless (seated) with Yadvinder Singh (standing, second-right) and Punjabi wrestlers

We loved Episode one where the team comprising Yadvinder 'The Beast' Singh, coach Jitendra 'Vicky' Khare and teammates Chaitanya 'Dangerous' Gavali and Andrew Canday arrive in Chandigarh and visit Singh's home to receive a typical warm Punjabi welcome. “We were told that the only thing you don't do is refuse food when someone offers it to you,” Canday says in the video. Episode two, titled Bootcamp, is the coolest of the lot.

Gavali in a still from the film

The Mumbai boys get a dose of a Punjabi akhada and desi-style fighting. They engage with local wrestlers in kushti and learn the traditions and rules of the game. You see the world-class champs learning to tie a langot (desi underwear), preparing the customary almond milk that fighters drink after a fight and struggling to learn the techniques in a mud pit. Episodes three and four feature kushti fights between champion Chaitanya Gavali and Punjabi pehelwan Mandeep and Andrew Canday takes on a gold medal-winning pehelwan named Himanshu.

“There's more to come. The boys are watching Sultan as we speak. We are doing a video where they review it,” Oshidar reveals. We're looking forward to seeing what they think of it.

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