The name Budhia Singh conjures up an image of a little kid sprinting across the landscape of Odisha. It was back in 2006 when as a four year old, little Budhia earned a record in the Limca Book of Records for completing a staggering 65 kilometres (Puri to Bhubaneswar) in a little over seven hours. Parallely, his coach Biranchi Das became the centre of a raging controversy. Today, as a 14-year-old, he cuts a different picture except that the zeal to run remains the same and so does the twinkle in the eye at the mention of the sport. Basking in the glory of his years as a wonder kid, he talks to us in broken Hindi ahead of the biopic — Budhia Singh – Born to Run — based on his life that is set to release next month.
The Odisha boy, also touted as the country’s youngest marathoners, is believed to have participated in over 40 marathons even before he turned 5, before being packed off to Kalinga Stadium hostel in Bhubaneswar in 2006 by the government authorities. Since then, Budhia’s life has been shrouded in controversy. “When I finished the Puri marathon, after the prize distribution we went home happily. After a few months, rumours started doing the rounds that my coach was hitting me, and there was a warrant issued against him. Everything went downhill from there. I was sent to the sports hostel and my coach was put behind bars,” he recollects.
Budhia, however, fiercely defends his former coach. “When I was with Biren sir, I used to wake up at 4 am and run till 6 am. Later I’d attend school and return to the training school and start practise again from 1 to 4 in the afternoon. I was under proper care. He even taught me swimming, exercise and used to take me for a massage later. Hostel life is way different than my childhood; here I only get to practise for two hours and then play sports. I don’t have proper practice for running at all,” he adds.
Having been away from controversy for a while now, Budhia found himself in the eye of a storm once again when recently rumours started doing the rounds that he had gone missing from his school. Some even speculating that the student from DAV English Medium School in Bhubaneswar may have been dead. But he laughs it off. “When I came to Mumbai, I had sought all the permissions required for my absence from school. I don’t know why the school authorities did not reveal that they had received the application. Soon rumours started doing the rounds that Budhia Singh has been kidnapped, he has been murdered — but I was here (in Mumbai) with my mom!” he says with much amusement.
Budhia has been here to promote a biopic made on his life, slated to release next month. “Two documentaries have been made on my life but nothing happened. When Soumendra Padhi (director of the film) approached me, I was elated. I thought it’d be something on the lines of the previous documentaries but then he revealed that it will be a full-length feature film, I was like okay, let’s see. The documentaries though did not generate any hype at all,” he adds. But from the film, his hopes are high. “I want something to happen after the film releases. I want a coach like Biren sir. I’m ready to go to any part of the country if I get a good coach. I will do whatever the coach tells me to do and I’ll run,” he persists.
Budhia, who has only seen the trailer of his film, says it makes him miss his coach sorely. Biranchi Das was shot dead in 2008 in an unrelated incident. “I have only seen the trailer of the film and it looks amazing. I miss my coach a lot. I wish he were alive right now to watch the film with me. Whenever I see Manoj Bajpayee sir (who plays Das in the film) it reminds me of him. Biren sir was a little fat though,” he points out with a chuckle.
Admittedly, not a movie buff otherwise, Budhia loves watching sports biopics and has seen most of recent ones including Paan Singh Tomar, Mary Kom and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. “And now that a film is being made on my life, I want people to know that to be good at any profession, one does not need money. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon. All you need is a coach and a proper diet,” he says.
The athlete swears by his coach, making a reference to him every other minute. “He used to train me so well. If it weren’t for him, I know I’d still be in those slums and wouldn’t be sitting here. Whatever I’m in life is because of him. I know it’s not possible to have him back but I want a personal coach. I’m not saying that the coaches in the hostel are bad but the long-distance training there is not good. I play a little football and basketball but the thrill I get by running can’t be matched while playing these games,” he rues.
The boy who got lost in the crowd at one point wants to shine again and this time not for a short span. “I want to be the Usain Bolt of India. I want to run for my country on the same tracks and win medals. Hostel kids with me run so much but they are sprinters; I was never known for my speed, I was known for my endurance levels and I wish to get the same by practice — all I need is a good coach!”
