R Madhavan, who will be seen next in Rajkumar Hirani's 'Saala Khadoos', recently remarked that the toughest part for the makers was finding a female boxer who could act too. The casting was very tough and Ritika Singh was shortlisted only after the casting team had a ringside view of 700 - odd duels and had auditioned nearly 100 athletes.

Revealed a spokesperson of the film, "Hirani chose a national level boxer over an actress to play the lead role. He felt the fights required stamina and intensity, and only a real boxer could make them look real. So, the entire team set out on a hunt for one. They auditioned over 100 boxers and attended over 700 boxing matches all over the country, before they finalised the female lead."

The auditions spanned for a couple of months and the makers found Ritika perfect for the role. The national - level kickboxer holds a black belt in karate and is also trained in mixed martial arts. Madhavan will be seen as her coach - a taskmaster.

At a recent media interaction, Hirani admitted that he was apprehensive about casting a boxer as the lead heroine, but after watching Ritika's audition tape the team was confident about her.

Directed by Sudha Kongara, 'Saala Khadoos' is all set to release on 29th January 2016.