Why Madhi from Saala Khadoos won our hearts !

Audacious. Ferocious. And Indomitable.

Madhi’s character from Saala Khadoos, that of a fisherwoman will enthrall you with its energy, bravery, valiant and gutty disposition. She is a born champion, as Madhavan calls her, someone who knows when to fight, how to burst out her anger and indulge in an enterprising victory, every time. The film is about Madhavan, a furious boxing coach finding Madhi, training her to be a boxer, teaching her how to show her mettle and fervor, with resolute.

So, here are few ways in which we all can connect with Madhi’s character and get inspired.

Never says no

When Madhavan presents her the opportunity to learn boxing, she does not give up. She gives her blood, sweat and tears. Be it push-ups, running with weights, exercising, her spirit is fearless. Not even once is she afraid that she, coming from the slums, not knowing anything about boxing cannot do it, or dream big. She says yes, and fights, witnesses the temper tantrums of her coach and still sticks with him, against thick and thin. Her fighting spirit is so phenomenal that even for once, she does not look back. A part of her makes all women see how much courage and valiance they are capable of, how they can stand against all odds and still win.

Falls in love

Rather than playing games, thinking about society, getting shy, Madhi takes the risk of proposing her mentor. She does not care whether he loves him or not, because for her, love is like the utopia that pushes you towards excellence, takes you through the painful journey of growth, digs your grave and finally, takes you out of it. She does not think about sleeping with him for any favour, just relies on winning his heart with sweat and blood. She is just so sexy in the way she dresses up in a yellow-saree, gifting him sweets, in the way she proposes to him. She is ferocious when she claims her love, not ashamed of it even if Madhavan is twice her age. You go girl!

Suffers with salience

When her own elder sister orchestrates a plan to hurt her hand while practicing, she understands it but does not utter a word. The next day in the nationalsemi-finals, she is unable to win because of her hand injury but she speaks not a single word against her sister. Even when her mentor got really ferocious with her, kicked her, shouted abuses at her, berated her love for him and asked her to get out of his life. She keeps her mouth shut, still practices, misses his presence and spends a lot of time alone. Not once does she criticize her own sister who had ditched her, who had wounded her beyond words. Later in a fight, she asked her sister that even once if she had asked her not to get into boxing, she would not have. But then, now she was ferocious because she wanted to keep up the faith her mentor had in her.

Never goes low

A strong character and phenomenal boxer, if Madhi wanted, she could have easily slept with Dev, who was the national coach for women’s boxing team and a pervert. But instead when he calls her to his railway cabin, she fights and kicks his ass, never giving up. For her character is everything and in spite of the pain and agony that she is going through, she never, for once realizes that she has to stoop down to a low level to emerge victorious and get more chances. Even when she wins the international championship in the end, and Dev who had made Madhavan resign in the end, is claiming in front of the entire crowd that she was her student, she kicks him, runs out and hugs Madhavan because in the end, she knew how much he had sacrificed for her. She never for once, takes advantage of all that she could have had, only if she opted for Dev, the National Coach. She is fearless and gutsy and does not even care of the repercussions which might have happened after her kicking and insulting him. She is arrested on false charges but she does not accept it as her destiny and desperately calls Madhavan, that from now onwards she would just focus on boxing and will win.

The best student

When Madhavan had narrated that it was Chengiz Khan whom he adored, because he knew that instead of aiming at the enemy, it was much more important to destroy his weapons. Madhi learnt the trick and practiced it in the international match. Against the Russian competitor, she aims at kicking at her arms, even though she does not earn points for it, all in a very strategic manner. And in the end, she knocks her out. As she wins, the entire world watches, her parents in the slum, her friends in the stadium, Madhi has eyes only for one man, her mentor. And crossing the paparazzi, the mushrooming line of journalists and well-wishes, she just hugs Madhavan tightly.

Madhavan had tears in his eyes. He had resigned by then and he knew no one would have known that in reality, she was his student. But in the end, the way she hugs him tightly, like a small baby, is speechless and a very heart-touching moment. Something which cannot be described in words.
In short, the character of Madhi makes us dream that women can indulge in all the fearlessness and courage of the world and cannot be stereotyped in any one category. Her adrenaline-gushing adventures makes you believe that you too can do it.

This movie in reality, without any cliché, is about women empowerment and how the identity of a woman cannot be described in a very stereotypical way because a champion can be born anywhere. What she needs is guidance, nothing else!