Vidyut Jammwal
Khuda Haafiz is divorced from the high-octane actioners that one has come to associate with Vidyut Jammwal. Even though the Disney+Hotstar offering boasts its share of stunts, the Faruk Kabir-directed film is a tale of love and hope.
"I have never been offered a film based on a real-life story. It's an inspirational story, and so, I said yes to the project," says Jammwal, who plays a man in search of his wife who has gone missing in a foreign country.
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Ask him if the drama is his attempt to break out of the mould of an action hero, and he says, "I do carry the weight of being one of the 10 people in the world you shouldn't mess with [referring to a recent magazine article where he was named alongside Bear Grylls], but people around will vouch that I am not that brash guy, ready to pick up a fight. I don't want to sound pompous, but I want to be one of the biggest action stars in the world. I didn't come to Bollywood to be a hero. I came to do action films because I wanted people to know about Kalaripayattu."
With Yaara having released on Zee5 last month and another film on the cards, Jammwal is pleased with the way his career has shaped up.
Jammwal and Shivaleeka Oberoi in Khuda Haafiz
"Ten years ago, I started off with bit roles. People start off dreaming of awards, but I didn't. What I have got so far supersedes my expectations." But with stardom, comes responsibility. "[You realise that] a lot of money is riding on you. Now, I have started investing more in the stories I tell. I go to location hunts and prepare for the tiniest detail."
The actor was to headline Bodhidharma, Ram Madhvani's show for Amazon Prime that was eventually shelved. Quiz him why the show didn't take off, and he recollects, "We both got busy—he, with Neerja [2016] and I, with my movies. But I will develop content along the same lines of Bodhidharma or Kalaripayattu."
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