Vidyut Jammwal, currently seen as the Dojo Master on the show,
India's Ultimate Warrior
, who guides the mentors and the warriors to achieve their goals. With mentors from across the world -
Killer Bi
(Pro MMA Fighter),
Shifu Kanishka
(Shaolin Kungfu GrandMaster), Mykel Hawke (Special Forces Veteran) and
Shaun Kober
(Combat Veteran), the contestants were divided into four teams. Taking forward the 'Gurukul parampara,' Vidyut hosts, narrates and contributes to the show with his expertise. In this exclusive interview, Vidyut spoke about the show, equality, his love for martial arts and more. Read on:
You've always stood out and tried to set a trend that involves and promotes Indian culture globally, for instance, this show. We have mentors from foreign countries come to our soil. Your views on it.When we got these mentors on board, we were asked why we are getting people who don't speak the language. Whenever I travel across India and I meet athletes, they say that they want to travel abroad majorly to get trained by international coaches. So, I thought if I have the opportunity to train them, why not train them with the best of the world. Master Shifu, Killer Bi, Hawke and Shaun, they are best at what they do. It was amazing to see the student-teacher bond. And why not represent our culture because the seeds have germinated here. Right from - yoga, martial arts, everything has originated here, why shy away from it.
The relationship between the mentors and the warriors and Master Vidyut is differently displayed from other reality shows. What do you have to say about this bonding?When we were conceiving the show, the idea was we will have disciples, mentors and a Master - the Gurukul 'parampara.' Where I was teaching, somebody was teaching music, somebody was teaching how to paint, on top of them there was another guru, my master who would teach everything. I would love my master because if I wanted to take a break, he would say let's drink tea, let him not go but the teachings were quite good. So, this is the format of the Gurukul where the mentors are hard yet gentle. For me, on this show, I love everybody and I wasn't biased. You can also see the emotions that if you feel proud for somebody, you do feel proud, whether it was from the other side.
In the episodes, we've seen you stay calm in every situation with that smile of yours intact. That in itself is quite an encouragement for your warriors. What do you have to say about that?This training is supposed to be done like that. When I meet people and they say how hard-working the warriors are. I do get surprised because if it's hard-working then it's not pleasurable. If I am painting something, I am enjoying it not because I am in school but because I love it. Similarly when I am training, I go to learner's and I give it my all. This is how I work in life. In the show, I was supposed to enjoy myself seeing what people are doing, and correct the mentors of what they should do. I was enjoying it because I have been guided by masters like these in my life who they really love. Enthusiasm is a better medicine than giving pain. I've seen people work better under love that's what I've been saying and that's how I did this show.
In this show, women are pitted against men and you get excited on seeing them do so. How do you feel when women triumph?I don't feel anything different, I feel normal. In this crew we have around 152 people and nobody for once said, 'How will she fight this monster of a man' and some of them did. Now, that it's my show why not make it something that I believe in and from experiences. It's amazing how these women fight. It strengthens them when you say, 'Fight like a woman,' don't tell them 'Fight like a man.' Nobody was telling women, 'Wow, you fought like a man' and that was my biggest high.
Special guest, Akshay Kumar announced a prize of Rs 10 lakhs for the Ultimate warrior. Do you believe for a warrior, an external factor like this motivates them to do much better?Money is a big motivation for everybody, not just contestants. Money is the guiding force. If you can. On a show like this, if a star like Akshay Kumar, out of nowhere, says this,
We've seen you have always created your own niche through the kind of films you do, your own world with your 'Jammwallions.'I've surrendered to God and I genuinely believe in this philosophy that everything is good. I'd never expected this (show) to happen but God always has a plan. The contestant
Haleema Momin - the
girl with the hijab had to do a stunt where she had to jump from a high bridge into water - all the mentors were trying to encourage her but she just couldn't do it. So, I remember looking at her and I told her, 'You told me that you believe in God, prove it. If you're meant to die, you'll die or he'll save you.' I remember looking into her eyes and saying this, she held my hand and jumped. There are times when we are stopped to think and talking to these kids is amazing. We also have a WhatsApp chat group and talking to these kids there also is amazing. We changed lives (smiles).
When was it that you realised your love for martial arts? Where did you derive the inspiration from?You don't need to be inspired. When you see something, you like it and you want to do it and want to emotionally feel it. You get inspired by a lot of things around you but you will only be inspired if you are looking for inspiration. A lot of things inspire me, inspiration is never a problem. Some people are optimistic, some deluded, I am always inspired, I like it.
And, now you are an inspiration for so many and people follow your footsteps.I feel very proud of those people because they've broken their own barriers. If you have a fear of something, confront it and that's what we did on the show also. It's not just Rs 10 lakh, it's 'wow, the winner will get this, I could win it.' That was an amazing gesture.
Since this show airs on TV too, which is the show that you watched on TV during your growing up years?I don't exactly remember but 'Chitrahaar' and all we used to watch.
Would we see another season of India's Ultimate Warrior, given that it's being loved by many?Like I said, it's all a part of God's plan. I genuinely don't know. What's amazing is that there are already 5-7 lakhs messages that the channel has received and I have personally received messages on my social media platforms where they say, "Sir, we want to participate in the next season." So, that's a great high and whether we plan to do it or not, it's good to see that people are curious.
What else is on the movie front?I've got
Khuda Hafiz
3 releasing now. I am working on my home production, IB 71, it's on the Intelligence Bureau and then I have Commando 3.
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