Actor and action-star Vidyut Jammwal, known for his gravity-defying stunts in films like Force (2011), the Commando film series (2013-2019) and Crakk (2024), will soon be making his international debut with Street Fighter. The feature film presentation of the popular video game series will see Vidyut play Dhalsim, the flexible, yogi-warrior from India who, as the actor describes, “doesn’t get violent till he has to stand up for what is right.”
In a candid conversation, we spoke to Vidyut about his experience of discovering the fandom of Street Fighter, how he got the part of Dhalsim, and what he thinks of action heroes being boxed into that image.
Excerpts:
First of all, have you played the video game Street Fighter?
No, I hadn’t played the game before I got on the film. When I was little, I remember my friends used to play it. I wasn’t that cool (laughs). They also probably didn’t realise they were playing something the whole world was playing too at that time. When I got the part of Dhalsim, I tried my hand on the game at an arcade in Australia and understood why it is so addictive.
Have you played video games in general?
No, actually. But when I went to work on this film, I used to tell people “I am a gamer” (laughs). Then I saw the real gamers and they were crazy. I can’t match them.
You must have auditioned for this role. Can you walk me through how you got the part?
For me it was a bit simpler. The producers had been looking for a Dhalsim and their requirement was an established actor from India. They had looked into my work and knew that I had been doing action for long, so it was easy for me. Two-three zoom interviews and I was on-board.
Dhalsim is portrayed as this extremely flexible, yogi-warrior. What is something that you learnt about doing action while portraying the role?
What I actually learnt was about the fandom of Street Fighter. It might not be as popular in India but people are crazy about it in other countries. I remember being in cabs in the US and if the cabbie came to know I am part of the film, his interaction with me would change. When it comes to action, not so much. I already know kalaripayattu so that came in handy.
This is the first time you are doing an international project. How would you describe the difference between how films are made here and abroad?
Oh, there is a lot of difference. Those people know what discipline actually means. Reaching on time is not considered a part of discipline there, it is an obvious requirement. When it comes to doing action stunts, laws are really strict there. You can’t execute a stunt if your insurance company feels there is even a one per cent chance of you getting injured. People there work with surgical precision. Here though we do things as per our whim and guts.
In a 2021 interview you said that India doesn’t have directors who understand action cinema well. With the likes of Kill and Dhurandhar now out, do you think things have changed?
The issue is that most filmmakers who make action films in India, they have seen international films and they think ki ‘aise karwa lenge’ (We will do it this way). I am not saying it is always the case, but it is better for a director of an action film to have worked in action in some capacity. Like how the director of John Wick has worked as a stuntman on The Matrix films. So, a person with such a background will always perform better.
A lot of times, certain action-centric films run the risk of being mindless. What do you think about that?
Mindless is also good at times (laughs). We apply brains in everything we do in our lives. In which other genre do you have this luxury of resting your mind a bit? But I do agree that action has to be propelled by emotion. There has to be a reason for the protagonist to go all out.
This happens with a lot of action stars, like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, even Jackie Chan, that even if they give a good performance as actors, they are still put in a box of being an “action hero”. Their image is limited to that. Did you ever feel that happening to you?
If a man has a beard, people can consider him a Rajput, a baba, a Muslim or a Punjabi. People can make assumptions and put you in a box all the time as per their understanding. You don’t get into that box.
For an action-hero, you seem to like romantic films more…
I do actually! See, a halwai won’t eat his own laddoos (laughs)