Actors push limits onscreen with parkour

From being an obscure training discipline in India a decade ago, Parkour has become a well-known activity today. In fact, it has become a preferred choice of physical training programme for actors from the Kannada film industry. The discipline, which involves jumping over obstacles and pushing one’s limits, originated in France, with Frenchman David Belle being credited as the founder.
In Kannada cinema, actors such as Avinash Narasimharaju, Chandan, Sanjjanaa and Vinod Patil have tried their hand at Parkour, either for a movie role or as a fitness programme. Actor Chandan, who went through a rigorous training programme to shoot the action sequences in the upcoming Arjun Sarja-directed film Prema Baraha, says, “Training in Parkour really made my body very supple and flexible. I could see that my movements were more fluid, and am confident of pushing my limits more than I would normally do. Being an Arjun Sarja film, action sequences are obviously going to be important, so this will definitely help.”
Avinash Narasimharaju, who made use of Parkour training for his stunt sequence in Vara, adds, “When you start practicing Parkour, it makes performing stunts look easy. While Parkour does make you fitter and sharpens your reflexes, what’s even better is that it makes you believe that you can do physical things you never thought were possible by you. Not only does Parkour make you very aware of your body and its limits, it also brings both your mind and body in sync. It is more of a philosophy than a mere training regimen.”

It’s not just for movie roles that film celebrities take up the discipline. Sanjjanaa, who took it up as a personal fitness routine, says, “While I didn’t take up Parkour for a movie role, I saw how much it benefitted those who took it up, both physically and mentally. I’m very particular about not wanting to be a heroine who’s in a film just for the glam factor. If the hero has an action sequence in which I’m there too, I don’t want to struggle to perform it, and do it with ease. I trained for close to six months, and can now comfortably scale walls and jump off it.”
It was in fact after she co-acted with Vinod Patil in Just Aakasmika that she took it up. For the film, Vinod had to learn the sport. Speaking about his experience, he says, “Till I had joined the cast of Just Aakasmika, I had never even heard of Parkour. It was my director who suggested that I take it up to improve my action sequences. But once I stared, I was hooked, to the point that I started doing it all the time. In fact, I even injured my foot while training, causing the shoot to be delayed by three months. Now whenever I get time, I enjoy doing some Parkour-related movements.”
The one thing that’s common among these actors is that they’ve all been trained by Bengaluru’s only Parkour group, Chaos Faktory, which was founded a decade ago. About training the stars, Delson D’souza, one of the co-founders of group, says, “Parkour makes your movements very fluid, and definitely adds to a person’s swag. This is probably why it is one of the best forms of film stunt training you can do, because actors are required to perform stunts in a cinematic manner. Training celebrities is a little different from regular people, in the sense that we have to train them specifically in movements that are required for their film’s stunt sequences. Also, scraped knees and minor injuries are a part and parcel of Parkour, but we have to be extra careful when training them.”