In Premaloka, the Kannada romantic hit movie released in 1987, V. Ravichandran’s character wins the heart of his dream girl, played by Juhi Chawla, by posing as a bike stuntman. The movie went on to be one of the most successful ones in Sandalwood, and the rest is history.
But very few people knew the man who played Ravichandran’s dupe, who did the jaw-dropping wheelies and jumps in the movie. It didn’t take long, though, for the young stuntman to cement his place in the industry and in a few years’ time, he could walk in to any shooting location without introducing himself. Jolly Bastian, the Ernakulam native who has 858 films so far to his credit, latest being the upcoming Malayalam film Pidikittapulli, says his journey as a stuntman has been as exciting and pulsating as any action movie that he’s been part of.
Jolly Bastian
“I was 17 years old when I made my debut in Premaloka. I was struggling to make both ends meet at that time and was ready to take any risk. After my studies, I worked in the automobile field and used to do some stunts with the bikes I got to work on. The filmmakers were looking for a stuntman and they saw me doing stunts on not just 100 cc bikes, but on heavy bikes. I impressed them and they offered me the opportunity. I haven’t had look back,” says Jolly.
Jolly with Mammootty
What does it take to be a stuntman? Like any career, you should have tools; for a stuntman, it’s his or her body. Jolly believes he used his tool well to get this far. Though he started off as a body double for heroes in stunt sequences, he is a stunt master now, who has a team of young artistes to assist him in each project. “In Sandalwood, you have to work as a stuntman for five years, and assist a stunt master for three more years to call yourself a stunt master. That’s how it works,” says Jolly, who is also former president of Karnataka’s official stunt directors’ association.
When asked how the industry and its demands have changed over the years, Jolly says that the real stunt remains on top. “Those days, we were ready to receive knocks in the set. I have landed on my back many times and got beaten many times. During the shooting of Putnanja, again a Ravichandran film, which gave me the biggest break during the early days of my career, I damaged my face and knees. I broke my collar bone during the shoot of another film, in which I had to do a bike flip over a bomb blast. But things have changed a lot. I do not risk much not because I am not ready, but they have technicians and cutting-edge techniques. CGs, tools costing lakhs of rupees, have made the job easy. But I truly believe that technology can’t beat the real stunt. The fact is, for real action, there’s no substitute .”
Jolly Bastian
Jolly made his debut in Malayalam film industry through Nivedyam. “When I came here, some people thought I would direct stunts like the ones they see in Telugu movies. But I did not. Some Telugu and Kannada movies have these action scenes where a hero can make you fly with one kick. Telugu fans won’t laugh at it, because that’s what they want to see. But even then, I tried to be as realistic as I could as I am a Malayali. And that helped me in working for films here. I have very fond memories working in Malayalam since then. Angamaly Diaries is my favourite work so far. I directed some stunts for Kammattipadam too, which were very nice.”
Jolly’s son Amith, too, made his debut as a stuntman when he was 17 years old, like his father. Amith was seen in films like Angamaly Diaries, Sakhavinte Priyasakhi and Varnyathil Aashanka. Amith is now busy in Kannada film industry with a few movies. Jolly also runs an event management and orchestra group named 24 Events, based in Bengaluru, in which he is also the lead singer.
Jolly is now preparing to direct a movie which would be a bilingual, a Kannada-Telugu one. He had already directed a movie in Kannada which didn’t do good as expected. Jolly has no complaints about heroes getting the applauds for the hardwork the stuntmen put in. “I am not jealous or sad about us not getting the credit we owe. Actually, people give us credit. They applaud for the stunts that they see on screen. Those applause and cheers are our victory.”
Though he is happy with his life as a stunt master now, he still has a big dream to achieve. “I would love to work for a Hollywood film and show the West that we are also good in stunts,” smiles Jolly.
