'Friends in Hollywood are already asking me – who is Vidyut Jammwal?'
Friends in Hollywood are already asking me, ‘Who is this guy in your trailer?’. The response we’ve got from the west over the trailer, they’re freaking out over this gentleman I’m working with right now, and they understand it’s inspirational. I’m getting this from all kinds of people back home, which is, ‘wow it’s an inspirational action film’, if there’s ever been one. I just wanted it to be a big entertainer. I think the audiences in the west are ready for it.
When I met Vidyut, I knew there was no one else that could do this. The action in 'Junglee' is organic to the story, and Vidyut is the only guy who can do it. I’ve been with a lot of people who are very highly paid in Hollywood and are officially, supposedly the best, but what Vidyut is doing is a whole different thing
'Eraser' was for Schwarzenegger, 'The Scorpion King' was for Dwayne Johnson, and only Jim Carrey could do 'The Mask'. In this case, 'Junglee' is for Vidyut'
Dwayne was ready, he had earned his break the way Vidyut has earned it – it’s not a break, he’s built up his skills, he was ready to put his heart into the show. So I don’t like to call it a break for either of them. Vidyut’s ready the same way Dwayne was ready at the time, and I was lucky enough to get to take these guys to the next level. That’s what I’m in it for.
In the film, I wanted one very traditional, old school martial art fight scene, for the joy of showing Kalaripayattu the way he’s learnt it. That’s what I’ve done my whole career, I’ve developed screenplays specifically to bring actors to the next level of stardom. It’s much more fun than recreating somebody’s brand. And what I saw in Vidyut was this charming guy with a big heart, and we can show all his amazing action, his humour and his heart. I did this as I’ve done in a couple of these
cases, 'Eraser' was for Schwarzenegger, 'The Scorpion King' was for Dwayne Johnson, and no one but Jim Carrey could do 'The Mask', so from the beginning, it was for Jim. In this case, 'Junglee' is for Vidyut. I’m very, very honoured to get to be the guy to push him to the next level, I hope. I’ve never met a more passionate man than him. I can’t stop him! If he wants to jump off a cliff, I can’t stop him.
'Vidyut is ready for things like the 'Fast and the Furious' or 'Mission Impossible' franchises'
I’ve had the most fun in my career as a director breaking new stars internationally. Dwayne Johnson’s 'Scorpion King' was his first leading role. Jim Carrey
wasn’t really known even, or Cameron Diaz, at the time 'The Mask' came out. And Vidyut is ready for that. I’ll make a little prediction – for one thing, 'Junglee' will be taken in by international audiences, and I think he’s a natural for things like 'The Fast And The Furious' or the 'Mission Impossible' franchises. And I hope we work