Call it a quirk of fate or a coincidence but most of Vidyut Jamwal’s films have had a strong regional connect. He debuted as a menacing villain in Force , the Hindi remake of Gautham Menon’s Kaakha Kaakha . Soon, he went on to sign Telugu and Tamil movies. Small roles in NTR’s Oosaravelli and Shakti apart, he was also part of Ajith’s Billa 2 ( David Billa in Telugu). Vidyut is looking forward to some fireworks this Deepavali, as A.R.Murugadoss’s Thuppakki gets ready for release.
His rigorous training in martial arts and his zeal for fitness, in a way, earned him the role.
“My first meeting with Murugadoss was incredible. He had come to Mumbai and I got to meet him exactly for four minutes. He commented that I had a good physique. In a matter of minutes, he said I was part of the film,” says Vidyut.
The next few months gave him the opportunity to work with cinematographer Santosh Sivan, Murugadoss and actor Vijay. “They are amazing people who worked in complete harmony with each other. I had expected clash of egos but there were none,” says Vidyut.
Simply put, Thuppakki is the story of a cop (Vijay) tracking down a terrorist (Vidyut) who wants to unleash terror in Mumbai. “I had a blast playing the antagonist. The film has superb action sequences. Being a villain and doing stunt sequences has its benefits. In both Billa 2 and Thuppakki , I got to work closely with Ajith and Vijay. The two actors are so secure about themselves that they are beyond petty conflicts,” says Vidyut.
Vidyut observes that Murugadoss is an excellent actor behind the screens: “He can emote a scene so well making your job easy. I simply had to follow his instructions.”
After Thuppakki , Vidyut is ready for his Commando , a film that will launch him as a solo hero.
“While shooting for Force , Vipul Shah said he would cast me in his next film. I thought he was joking. But he called me three months later and offered me Commando ,” says Vidyut. For the film, he used his expertise in Kalaripayattu and Gatka for the action sequences. “We’ve finished shooting 80 per cent of the film,” he adds.
For an actor who got noticed in his debut film, why did it take so long to do another Hindi film? “I thought once Force released, I’d wake up to take many calls from directors and producers. Nothing of that sort happened. I got 10 offers of which I did three,” signs off Vidyut.
