After Khuda Hafeez: Chapter 2 last year, the suave Vidyut Jammwal is back as Air Force officer Dev Jammwal in Sankalp Reddy’s IB71. The film, which also marks Jammwal’s debut as a producer, tells the story of India's most confidential mission. Excerpts from the interview with the actor who was in town to promote the film.
What's the storyline of IB 71.
This movie is about the Intelligence Bureau of India, and is set about 50 years back when India conducted the biggest secret service mission involving 30 agents who got together during the 1971 war. Very few know that the war was just not between India and Pakistan…there was massive support from China. People know about the ‘Ganga Hijack’ but they don’t know the details. It’s a true depiction of how India finished the war in 13 days and the role of the intelligence team behind it.
What was the prep like?
We didn’t have a lot of information about it. There were just two front-page articles in a leading American and an Indian daily apart from a few stories. We had to find people, read books and so on. Our director Sankalp Reddy had done this before while he was making Ghazi Attack. But again, we didn’t want to make it a documentary so we took some cinematic liberty.
What are you working on right now?
I am filming a movie called Crakk under my production. It is the first extreme sports Hindi movie co-starring Jacqueline Fernandez and Arjun Rampal, among others.
You started Kalaripayattu at a very young age. Did you have a knack for it?
I didn’t see it as martial arts or something, I saw it as a game. I didn’t learn it as a job. I just enjoyed it and picked it up. I liked jumping and kicking things and my parents never stopped me.
What martial art forms are you practising currently?
I have been working on warfare and physical combat for a long time, and healing a lot of people. In 2020, I healed about 9 lakh people through my YouTube channel. Apart from this, recently I buried myself in neck-deep snow for three hours. It’s all a practice of the mind. Recently I also attempted a world record for slackline-Highline, walking on a tightrope/wire between two mountains.
What’s fitness for you?
I think it’s completely in sync physically and mentally. It’s not about six-pack abs, it’s about how happy I get.
How important is it to work out under a trained instructor?
You cannot have a guru who is not aware of the craft they are teaching. In so many cases where youngsters are getting heart attacks, I sincerely feel the trainers are to be blamed. They are pushing you to limits, without letting you find out what resonates with your mind and body. Trainers need to be aware, they need to educate themselves more. Every human body is different, there is no need to make everyone muscular. The same diet may work on different bodies differently. So the most important part is to find a good, educated trainer, if not look out for validated, certified coaches online.
You follow a vegan diet, how do you manage your cravings?
I have been a vegan for quite some time now, and all my life I have been a vegetarian. But I eat meat when I have cravings. The moment I checked in this Kolkata hotel, Sandesh was waiting for me. How can I not have it?
How to train yourself to listen to your body?
It’s simple. Take a notebook and start journaling to stop unnecessarily feeding yourself. We are eating as a routine and discipline, we are not eating because we are hungry.
IB71 releases today.