Actor impressed his idol, Jackie Chan, founder of the fest, and his Rush Hour co-star, Chris Tucker
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 3, 2019)

Vidyut Jammwal was in China this week for the Jackie Chan International Film Week where Junglee Pictures’ action-adventure Junglee bagged two awards, for Best Action Sequence Choreographer and Best Action Family film. “It was great to be in a country where action is recognized and win the biggest award for action in the world,” exults the actor, informing that a Jackie Chan Award is equivalent to the Oscars for action filmmakers.

He goes on to add that Chan had once admitted that action films, though popular, seldom receive recognition at film festivals, which prompted him to start the initiative. “Over 150 films from across the globe were in contention and to go on the stage to represent India was the biggest honour. We were the stars in China and even Chris Tucker (Chan’s co-star in Rush Hour) appreciated my work,” Vidyut beams.

Before flying to Datong, Vidyut posted a video of him breaking bricks with his hand without any damage to the egg he is holding. “Jackie Chan had performed this stunt during an interview some years ago. Since then, nobody else had managed the feat. He gave me a hug and asked me how many eggs had I broken before getting it right. I was able to tell him it was done in a single take. It was a big deal for me because Jackie who has done everything possible in this genre and inspired so many, including me, loved my work,” Vidyut recounts, quick to point out that Jackie has become a benchmark for action and any stunts bring forth complaints from viewers that they have seen it in his films earlier.

Vidyut informs that Chung Chi Li (who worked on stunts with action director Parvez Shaikh), is the biggest action director in China. “In India, action films mostly cater to male audience but our film was tailored for families. I think that resonated with the jury. I want to thank my producers Vineet Jain and Priti Shahani for putting India on the global action map with this film,” he avers.