Once limited to a couple of scenes in Dara Singh films, Hindi film connoisseurs are finally getting to see traditional wrestling on a big scale in Sultan and Dangal . With top actors Salman Khan and Aamir Khan as the lead, these films have not only glamourised wrestling but have opened avenues for wrestlers as trainers and supporting actors.
“Films on boxing and hockey have been made. A wrestling film has been missed by all. Now the audience, especially new generation, gets to see a film on wrestling. It is about Salman Sir’s journey from gaon to Olympics,” says wrestler Jagdish Kali Raman, who coached Salman Khan in Sultan .
And to make the environment around the Haryanvi pehlwan look realistic, all requirements of preparing akhada were made. “Villagers in Haryana, Punjab, where the film was shot, and in other States, who watch kushti on dangal , would instantly recognise akhada . And I am confident many would now try to make a career in wrestling,” says Jagdish, whose father Chandgi Ram, whose akhada in the Walled City of Delhi is among the top ten in the country.
To give wrestling an authentic rustic flavour, national and international wrestlers fought with the actor. “Wrestlers used traditional moves while grappling with Salman. And he too used techniques like dhobi pachhad . In certain scenes, Salman gets thrown by burly wrestlers and sometimes he demonstrates his recently mastered moves to throw them. This way audience gets a feel of traditional wrestling,” says Jagdish.
However, the tricky part was not teaching the eager to know stars as they had good absorbing power. “Convincing our pehlwans that they had to do kushti with Salman, their on-screen hero, was the difficult part. They had pangs of nervousness even standing next to him. Director Ali Abbas Zafar wanted them to give right expressions. These wrestlers never faced the camera in their lives. So psychological preparation was done to make them act.”
For the film, Salman borrowed a leaf from his idol Sylvester Stallone, who worked out a new fitness schedule before Rocky or Rambo to suit the character. In Sultan, the actor has gone the extra mile to show his fans that he is cut out to be a wrestler. “Salman went through the grind like an average wrestler right from akhada kodna and dand baithak . But re-takes were there and they took a toll on Salman. But he made the moves look realistic as he is physically very strong.”
Both Sultan and Dangal highlight that wrestling is as much about physical prowess as brain power. “These films dispel misconceptions that wrestling has to do only with physical prowess. Kushti dimaag se khelni parti hai. Buddhi haran karni parti hai . One has to go inside the brain of the opponent to anticipate his next move. When TT asks me for a rail ticket and I flash off my card of Arjuna Award winner in wrestling he can scarcely believe that I am a wrestler,” says the diminutive Kripa Shankar Patel, who gave wrestling tips to Aamir Khan in Dangal .
While Aamir’s film releases in December, the spotlight is on Sultan . As coach you must have an idea of Salman’s strength?
“Salman’s strength can be gauged from the fact that he lifted me and Palwinder Cheema, who together weight 250 kg, on his shoulders at a wrap party. He was so excited and his power had increased as he had been wrestling and pumping iron regularly. On top of it, he had been religiously following a special diet prepared by a professional dietician,” says Jagdish. Cautions Kripa, wrestling and injury have “ choli daman ka saath. ”
While stars are invincible on screen in real life they have to obey instructions of the fight master. Kripa says: “While coaching I was the master and Aamir the student. I would scold him if he did not perform the technique the correct way. But these actors have amazing capacity to listen, absorb and implement them during shooting,” sums up Kripa.
Both Jagdish, who is playing a cameo in Sultan , and Kripa have come into limelight thanks to their association with these two films. Consequently, they would also be playing alongside yesteryears actors like Asrani in the upcoming Luv Kush Ramlila.
