Vidyut Jammwal: Playing MMA fighter for the first time on screen

A still from Sanak

As is the case with most Vidyut Jammwal-starrers, Sanak sees the one-man army take on a gang of baddies. The focus naturally is on the leading man's action prowess as he brings balletic action and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to the screen. "I am playing an MMA fighter for the first time. So, [I had] the responsibility of displaying MMA perfectly on screen. Our cinema is watched by the international audience. For me, it's a huge achievement when global action reviewers say that the stunts are flawless and of international standard," begins the actor.

The Kanishk Varma-directed venture sees the actor play a common man whose wife, along with other patients, is held hostage in a hospital. In a Jammwal-led film, stunts are never restricted to run-of-the-mill kicks and punches. Here too, he says he had the responsibility to raise the bar with the elaborate set-pieces. "I prep more than anybody else [I know] and invest a lot of time to get [each sequence] right. For instance, one of the scenes was set in a physiotherapy room. We were wondering how we can do something different [within the set-up]. I thought, why can't we do something with the stability ball? That's how the scene was choreographed around the ball. A lot of effort has gone into making it look effortless."

The film, also starring Neha Dhupia and Rukmini Maitra, will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar. Even as he admits that watching action extravaganzas on the big screen has its own charm, Jammwal believes a digital premiere is a prudent move at this hour. "I am not one of those arrogant people who will say, ‘Let the producers lose money. We will release it [only] in theatres.' Somebody has bet their money on me, and I want them to earn much more than they have bet. I grew up watching Jackie Chan's movies, where I would pause the film, rewind a sequence and study his moves. Now that my movie is coming on OTT, maybe young people will watch it and emulate it, just the way I did in my growing-up years."

Also Read: 'Sanak' Trailer: Vidyut Jammwal's action steals the show