The life of a female Tamil boxer – Light Fly, Fly High

Directed by Norwegians Beathe Hofseth & Susann Østigaard, “Light Fly, Fly High” is an award winning film about Thulasi Ekanandam, a female Tamil boxer from the Southern state of Tamil Nadu.

On Sunday, the film picked up the “Best Documentary Award” at the 5th Annual Norway Tamil Film Festival, an internationally recognised event attended by celebrities from Tamil Nadu’s cinema industry & independent film makers from across the globe.

16 years ago Thulasi ran away from home, now she stays with Helenma and her family. Being a dalit Thulasi is born outside caste, and girls like her are supposed to accept their position at the very bottom of the social ladder. But Thulasi does not accept that. She wants to fight her way up. For 10 years she’s been boxing, and she’s sacrificing everything, because boxing can be her way out.

The directors spotted the 27 year old boxer at a tournament in 2010, a year after she won a bronze medal at the national boxing championship and touted to be the next big thing in Indian boxing.

Speaking to the “Hindu” newspaper Thulasi said, “They had come down to make a documentary on Indian boxers. They saw me fight and later came over to my house to know more about me. After I told them my story, they decided to do a brief interview.” Her life changed in the days to come, not because of the interview but the controversy that brought her boxing career to a halt.