The Greek-god like body, aesthetic looks, sharp jawline, powerful personality, agile and angular physique and dreamy eyes enough which can pierce through anyone’s heart make them go weak in the knees; Vidyut Jamwal is not just about the perfect ratio of the body parts. India’s next-gen action hero gave us the reason to celebrate by topping the list of world’s best martial artist curated by a highly respected platform in the US, Looper. He has become the only Indian to feature in the list of martial artists around the world. The Bollywood hunk bagged the position in Top 6! This merit makes Vidyut Jamwal our Personality of The Week!
Vidyut, obviously pleased, was quoted saying, ‘This is indeed an honour. Recognition like this inspires me to work harder and moment makes me feel like a proud Indian.’ He also said, ‘Honours like this help me give back to the community of Kalaripayattu to which I owe my life and all this success.’
Born in Jammu to a family of military background, Jamwal at a very tender age of 3, was trained in Kalaripayattu from an ashram run by his mother in Palakkad, Kerala. Kalaripayattu is known to be the oldest surviving martial art still in existence. It originated as a style in Kerala practised in battlefields and in combat arenas. After earning a degree in martial arts, he travelled to over 25 countries, where he performed in live action shows, a unique showcase indeed.
Also, a rock climber, Vidyut’s splendid workout regime combines martial arts training with various other elements of cardiovascular, weight and interval training. More recently, Jamwal has adopted and added AntiGravity Yoga and Suspension TRX to his intense workout regime. With his elaborate expertise in martial arts, Vidyut kicked off an initiative to teach self-defence techniques to college-going and working professionals and has also hosted a camp at a college festival in Mumbai.
After turning into a vegetarian, the army kid was adjudged as PETA India’s Hottest Vegetarian Celebrities of 2013, along with actress Kangana Ranaut. After a short career in modelling in Delhi, Jamwal began his movie venture.
On-screen expedition-
He eventually started by playing supporting roles in the Telugu films Shakti and Oosaravelli. In 2012, Jamwal made his debut in Tamil cinema with Billa II, as the antagonist for which he received critical appreciation and blockbuster Tamil films Thuppakki and Anjaan. He made his Hindi film debut with John Abraham starrer Force and awed Bollywood over and over again with his splendid action skills. In his first movie as a lead role in Commando, he showcased realistic combat based action, by performing stunts himself without a hitch. So much so that when the film was showcased internationally, action directors and international media gave their feedback by calling him India’s answer to Bruce Lee and Tony Jaa. After the success of Commando, he was next seen donning the avatar of a sharpshooter cop in Bullett Raja and was loved for his action and his performance. His other Hindi films are Stanley Ka Dabba, Bullet Raja, Baadshaho, Commando 2. He was also seen in the television series CID and was a host and presenter for the Netflix show Ultimate Beast Master. Apart from that, Vidyut was in the music videos Tumhe Dillaggi by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Gal Ban Gai, where he grooved to the music with his alluring dance moves.
The new age action hero of Bollywood will be seen next in Director Chuck Russel’s Junglee, which is slated for a worldwide release on 5th April 2019. ‘It’s great to see Vidyut being noted as the rising star in action films across the world. He has a rare combination of cinematic charm and killer moves that will make him unstoppable after this film. What really distinguishes Vidyut is his deep knowledge of the martial art Kalaripayattu and his understanding of its philosophy to not only protect and fight but also use it to heal. I had the pleasure of creating his role in Junglee to play his style of action supporting a positive message. I can’t wait for audiences to see it on the big screen.’ said Russel, well known for his movies The Mask and The Scorpion King.
The achievement of Vidyut Jamwal is truly commendable; the other martial artists on the list are IIram Choi, Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Lateef Crowder, Wu Jong and Johnny Nguyen.
