Few global stars command the kind of adoration in India that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson does. Long before he was headlining Hollywood blockbusters, he was already a household name here — a wrestling icon whose charisma lit up Indian television screens through the ’90s. Decades later, the love hasn’t waned; if anything, it has only grown. In an exclusive conversation with Bombay Times, the actor opens up about the special place India holds in his heart.

“I'm just blown away by the love coming out of India. It's been like that for years. We're lucky that we get a little bit of love from different parts of the world, but the love I get from India is crazy; it’s wild. It goes back to even my wrestling days — that’s when I first started to feel that kind of love. That love is really incredible," he tells us.

The film, in which he plays - what he believes is his most transformative role yet - MMA legend Mark Kerr, recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival. It earned a standing ovation — a rare moment for Johnson, who is usually known for his stardom and not acting chops.

Reflecting on the emotional evening, he shares, “That standing ovation was really special for us. We just went in without any expectations. Another thing was that we watched it with Mark Kerr. He was there with us, and that was the first time we had watched the movie with an audience. To feel his body vibrating and shaking — he sat next to me the whole movie, and he’s a big guy, so I felt him the whole time, and I was just really moved by it. He was so emotional. It was just an unbelievable night.”

Dawyne also talks about his on-screen partnership with Emily Blunt and filmmaker Benny Safdie. “We did have a really special, very rare nucleus with Emily, me and Benny. The three of us have this alchemy and this dynamic. Sometimes in life, things and relationships can just be chemical, but the three of us — we have something really special, in the film and after the film. We’re just so super close and family, for sure. This film changed my life," he says.

Beyond the applause and camaraderie, the project also offered the star a profound life lesson. “We all want to win at whatever it is we’re doing. Nobody likes to lose, but losing is part of life. And arguably, losing is one of the most important things about life. It teaches you those lessons. So, for us, I feel like we learned so much about ourselves making The Smashing Machine," he concludes.