Rooted in the subculture of societal facts, Panga is an emotional roller coaster tale of a middle-class Indian woman, where a forgotten Kabaddi world champion catalyzes an inner desire to give a new meaning to her existing role as a wife and mother and takes an ingenious decision to come back to the sport despite the challenges of age stereotypes and new generation complexities which creates an upheaval in her life as she is torn between societal pressures of family responsibility and love for the sport.
Plot
Jaya Nigam is a former Kabaddi world champion and current railways ticketing staff who is married to Prashant Sachdeva, a railways senior section engineer, and has a son, Aditya a.k.a. Adi. Currently living in Bhopal after Prashant's transfer to the city, she is propelled both by the arrival of her former teammate Meenu and a push from Adi, who learns of her achievements through Prashant, to return to the sport despite facing challenges of physical fitness and newer, more experienced players. Initially unable to deal with the pressures of a hectic job and the exercise routines that Adi's enthusiasm pushes her through, she finally regains composure and, with support from Prashant and Adi, goes on to mark her comeback to the sport as a mother of a 7-year-old after her story gets noticed again. How she gets back on her feet as the renewed player forms the rest of the story.
Cast
Kangana Ranaut as Jaya Nigam
Jassi Gill as Prashant Sachdeva, Jaya's husband
Richa Chadda as Meenal "Meenu" Singh, Jaya's friend and former teammate
Neena Gupta as Rachna Nigam, Jaya's mother
Yagya Bhasin as Aditya "Adi" Sachdeva, Jaya's and Prashant's son
Megha Burman as Nisha Das, Jaya's present teammate
Panga was announced on 21 August 2018 with Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari sharing an emotional Instagram video montage of herself, Kangana Ranaut, Jassi Gill, Neena Gupta and their families, indicating that when your kin stands behind you, no one in the world can take ‘panga’ with you. Ranaut told the Mumbai Mirror in an interview: “When Ashwiny narrated the film's story, I was completely moved. My family has been my pillar of strength and have always stood by me through thick and thin. I could really relate to the emotions of the film. Plus, Ashwiny is known for her slice-of-life films and I loved her recent work inBareilly Ki Barfi. Panga is even more special for me as, for the first time, I will be playing the role of a National-level Kabaddi player. That's going to be challenging for sure! I am looking forward to some exciting times with Ashwiny and the Fox Star team.” Gill who is playing the role of the husband of Ranaut in this film told the Mumbai Mirror: “I loved the script, especially the inspiring family angle. The film is a roller-coaster of emotions but to me the real Indian family feeling was the most heart-warming part of the subject. Since I come from a very close-knit family, I could identify with the story.”
Training
The actors appearing in the film as kabbadi players, including Ranaut, underwent training in kabaddi for over two months.
Filming
The film went on floor on 23 March 2017 in Panaji. The first schedule of the film was wrapped up on 7 December 2018. The second schedule of the film was wrapped up on 22 June 2019. The director planned next schedule in a Delhi stadium in April. The third schedule of shooting began in April 2019 in Delhi. The Delhi schedule of the film was completed in mid April and next schedule of shooting to begin in Kolkata. The filming was completed in mid July 2019. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, the director of the film wrote on her Instagram account, "My dearest Panga Humans are the sun. The sun that spread a ray of hope when things seem really impossible to achieve."
Marketing and release
First look of the film was shared by the director of the film Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari on 7 March 2019, a still photo in which leading pair is laughing while looking at the sunset. The first look poster of Ranaut was released on 19 December 2019. On December 23 official trailer of the film was launched by Fox Star Studios. The film was released in India on 24 January 2020.
Panga earned 2.70 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected 5.61 crore. On the third day, the film collected 6.60 crore, taking total opening weekend collection to 14.91 crore. , with a gross of 34.43 crore in India and 7.28 crore overseas, the film has a worldwide gross collection of 41.71 crore.
