EXCLUSIVE: Danny Trejo (Machete) and Veronica Falcón (Ozark) have boarded American Underdog, an indie drama set in the world of MMA that is now in production in Chicago. The film, marking the feature directorial debut of Peruvian-American filmmaker Gustavo Martin, will also star amateur MMA fighter Vishy Ayyar and professional MMA fighter Andrew Gray.
Pic’s protagonist is Jai (Ayyar), an ex-con on a soulful path wrestling with personal redemption when outside circumstances pit him in the ring against the fierce opponent, Marcus (Gray). Trejo portrays Dennis, who reluctantly comes out of retirement to train his former student, while Falcón steps into the role of Marcella, a local gym owner and community legend shepherding Jai in his return to fighting.
A production of Peach Partners, in association with Mulberry Films, and MxW Ventures, American Underdog will also star Suleka Mathew (Your Honor), Taylor Treadwell (Big Little Lies), Omi Vaidya (3 Idiots), Ranjita Chakravarty (Never Have I Ever) and Jaspal Binning (The Newsroom). Martin and Matthew Mascia wrote the script, with Naveen A. Chathapuram (The Last Victim, Brown Nation), Rashaana Shah (IFC’s Bollywood Hero) and Cristy Coors Beasley (The Westsiders, LonelyGirl15) aboard to produce.