Vidyut Jammwal: People should talk of kalaripayattu, the Indian martial art

Mumbai (IANS) – New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) Bollywood action star Vidyut Jammwal says his vision is to popularise the indigenous martial art kalaripayattu through Indian cinema.

Vidyut is a trained martial artiste and has learnt kalaripayattu since the age of three.

“I don’t have a vision yet about how it should be presented, but my vision for Indian cinema is that people should talk about kalaripayattu, the martial art. It is an original Indian martial art,” Vidyut told IANS.

“When I go and pursue an award from Jackie Chan, and when they talk of kalaripayattu, the Indian martial art, I feel proud. My vision for Indian action cinema worldwide is that we need to present this,” he said about popularising kalaripayattu on screen.

Vidyut, who rose to fame with the “Commando” franchise of films, notes many things that are popular globally today actually originated in India.

“When I lie down on spears, they say, ‘Shaolin monks bhi karte hain (Shaolin monks also do this)’. Shaolin monks isliye karte hain (Shaolin Monks do it) because they learnt it from an Indian guy called Bodhidharma. I just want everybody to be aware. People should know that martial arts is an Indian skill, and that’s my vision,” he said.