Centenarian marathon runner Fauja Singh’s biography ‘Turbaned Tornado’, authored by Chandigarh-based Khushwant Singh, is all set to become a biopic titled ‘Fauja’.
The life of the world’s oldest marathon runner will be the subject of the biopic from a trio of established Indian creative’s. The film will be directed by Bollywood director Omung Kumar B of ‘Mary Kom’ fame, who will produce it alongside Kunal Shivdasani, whose credit includes the 2008 thriller ‘Hijack’, and Raaj Shaandilya, who previously wrote and directed the 2019 comedy film ‘Dream Girl’. Vipul Mehta, of the Gujarati blockbuster ‘Chal Jivi’ fame, is currently penning the script for the biopic.
Omung Kumar said, “The story of Fauja Singh depicts the insurmountable odds stacked against him and what sheer power of will can make of someone who is challenged medically, by age and by society.”
Kunal Shivdasani added, “It is a beautiful story about a man whose life takes him on an epic journey making him a world icon as he discovers his passion for running marathons; eventually that guided him to make an impact on the world by bringing about a change to humanity.”
The movie will tell the tale of how the 108-year-old Fauja Singh, popularly known as the ‘Sikh Superman’, who stunned the world by shattering a number of records as a marathon runner in multiple age brackets. Since making his debut at the London marathon in the year 2000 at the age of 89, Singh has completed it six more times and has also finished marathons in Toronto, New York and several more cities.
Born in 1911 in the village of Beas Pind in Jalandhar, Punjab in British India, Fauja Singh was skinny and sick as a child and was often teased by other children. He could not walk until the age of five, and even when he started walking, he could not cover long distance.
At the age of 93, Fauja Singh ran his first marathon and completed it in 6 hours and 54 minutes – a world record.
