''Tiger'' is a 2018 American

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Alister Grierson Alister Grierson (born 1969) is an Australian film director and scriptwriter. Early life and education Born in Canberra, he completed his secondary schooling at Canberra Grammar, graduated in Economics and Arts from the Australian National U ...

, written by Michael Pugliese and Prem Singh, and produced by Daniel Grodnik based on the true story of former Ontario flyweight boxing champion Pardeep Singh Nagra, a Sikh who aspired to be a boxer only to be prevented from becoming one due to his refusal to shave his beard. The film stars

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles ...

Janel Parrish Janel Meilani Parrish Long (born October 30, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She starred as Mona Vanderwaal in the mystery-drama television series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017) and its spinoff '' Pretty Little Liars: The Perfecti ...

, Prem Singh, and Michael Pugliese. The film, which had its world premiere at the

San Diego International Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...

on October 13, 2018 where it won

Best Feature Film Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

. It was given a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unit ...

in the United States and Canada by R3M Pictures on November 30, 2018 before rolling out to a nationwide release.

Plot

''Tiger'' is inspired by the true story of Pardeep Singh Nagra, a practicing Sikh man who was banned from the sport of boxing due to his religious beliefs. Pardeep fights back with the support of his coach and mentor (Mickey Rourke) and a community lawyer (Janel Parrish). Obstacles faced include racial profiling by public officials, overtly racist threats, jealous rival boxers and pressure to change from loved ones. It is within the course of these challenges, and at his weakest moment, that he discovers love (Janel Parrish). Consequently, his legacy will be forever tied to his two biggest battles; one in the courtroom, the other in the ring.

Cast

as Frank Donovan *

as Charlotte *

Marshall Manesh Marshall Manesh (born August 16, 1950) is an Iranian-American actor. Biography When Manesh was young, his father died; he was raised by his mother, from whom he feels he got his strength to make it in show business. He went to the United S ...

as Kulwant
Prem Singh
as Pardeep Nagra * Michael Pugliese as Bryan Doyle * Jacob Grodnik as Barry Zaya *Mike Dennis as Ian

Production

Prem Singh and Michael Pugliese began writing the screenplay in 2010. After years of trying to get the film into production, it finally started to come together early 2015. Alister Grierson was attached in April 2015. Prem and Michael found out

trained with

Freddie Roach Frederick Steven Roach (born March 5, 1960) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. Roach is widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers of all time. He is the enduring boxing coach of the eight-division world champio ...

at Wild Card Boxing Club and took the next flight out. They waited for

to leave the gym where they pitched him the project. He was later attached in September 2015.

was later attached in October 2015.

Filming

Principal photography began in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

and

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at ...

in November 2015. The making of the film reportedly caused a lot of road closings in the Hamilton area. Filming also took place in

Miami University Hamilton Miami University Hamilton (Miami Hamilton) is a satellite campus of Miami University in Hamilton, Ohio. It was founded in 1968 and is one of three regional campuses of Miami University. History In 1946, Miami University began offering classes in ...

. Principal photography wrapped in December 2015.

Music

Cezary Skubiszewski Cezary Skubiszewski is a Polish-born Australian film and television composer. Among others, he has composed film scores for '' Red Dog'', '' Two Hands'', '' The Sapphires'', and TV series '' Picnic at Hanging Rock''. Career Skubiszewski first m ...

wrote and composed the original score with a full orchestra.

Manj Musik Manjeet Singh Ral (Punjabi: ਮਨਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਰਾਲ, born 24 January 1975), better known by his stage-name Manj Musik, is a British Indian composer, singer and Filmi scorer. He was one of the music composer for the bhangra musi ...

wrote the song "Punjabi Worldwide" for the film which features

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a so ...

Accolades

On October 14, 2018, ''Tiger'' won the "

" award at the

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 4224754 American sports drama films 2018 films American biographical drama films Films shot in Ohio American boxing films 2010s sports drama films 2018 biographical drama films 2018 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films