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Book Review: Tiger (The Official Movie Novelization) by Saurav Dutt

Tiger by Saurav Dutt is a novel on a Sikh-American boxer Pradeep Singh Nagra. The book emanates from the screenplays of the movie called Tiger, released worldwide in 2018. It’s based on true life events of a boxer, a sort of semi boxing biography.


The novel is fast paced and rich with action and adventure. While reading one can easily guess that a kind of movie is running before the eyes. In a sense, the author Saurav Dutt did a great job by converting screenplays into a moving novel. If you have seen the movie, you will find the book a straight replica. If not seen the movie, you may crave for it.

The story is real, however, for some purpose the author has changed the names of a few characters shown in the movie. Pradeep Singh Nagra lives in the USA with his uncle. He has zeal to do something. He is powerful and possesses a robust physique. Probably sport is the field that can absorb him. He tries his luck in soccer but to no avail.  

Soon he begins seeing Wakefield Boxing Club. There he gets into a dust-off with a powerful boxer named Doyle, who remains his enemy throughout the story. Nagra chooses to be a boxer. He gets the support of Donovan, the owner of Wakefield Boxing Club.

Nagra being a Sikh faces rejections and discrimination due to his beard and turban. ABC (American Boxing Club) doesn’t allow him in the ring for championships and contests. To do that he has to shave his beard. Being a Sikh, beard and turban are his tenets of faith. He is dragged into a series of courts. People sneer at him, calling him Bin Laden, terrorist, saying his turban a rag. He faces abuses and filthy discrimination from white boxers. If he has to box, he needs to shed his faith. But he wants to fight being a Sikh. Thus, for this reason, he is called Punjab Tiger. He did not give up. He is battling two fights simultaneously.

“Legal fight was never about the sport. It was about changing the way people would think about this turban and this beard.”

The book laid open the underbelly of racism in the sports of America. Though there are people in his support but that is not enough. As it is mentioned in the book that some people fight for glory but Nagra fought for his rights.

“Pradeep,” Donovan said, choking back a tear, “you won the fight you wanted to win, that’s all that matters.”

It is a tale of determination that inspires millions of people to fight for their rights. Saurav described a lot of fight scenes deftly, keeping the narration lean and to the point. Other than a great story, the novel also reveals the intricate nature of boxing sports. If someone keen on learning boxing, can pick up this novel to see what it takes to be boxer. It is a perfect novelization of the movie. Great job Saurav!

Buy from Amazon.

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