Bollywood actor Kunal Kapoor has undergone several months of vigorous Kalaripayattu training to perfect his movements required for his role in a regional film, Veeram. He is the latest in the list of actors being trained in Kalaripayattu by Malayali gurukkals. Last year, the much-lauded action sequences in Bajirao Mastani showcased Kerala's own martial art with the stars Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone being trained by these gurukkals (local parlance for gurukul). Here's a lowdown on what went be hind the screen to get the actors prepped for their roles:

BAJIRAO, MASTANI LEARN KALARI
Sunil Kumar, a Kalari exponent, has choreographed Kalari sequences for more than 25 non-Malayalam movies including Asoka and Raavan. Bajirao Mastani is just the latest in the list. “The film had a lot of action sequences, and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali wanted perfection, so the sessions went on for almost a year in Mumbai. Both the actors were devoted to learning Kalari and even practised the craft when they were not shooting,“ says Sunil, adding that his crew had travelled with the stars during the shoots in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

CAPSULE KALARI FOR CELEBS
According to martial art experts, mastering Kalari takes nearly a decade. For celebs, the Gurukkals devise crash courses based on the requirements of the script, explains G Sathyanarayanan, who has trained the likes of Jackie Chan, Mohanlal and Mammootty. “We vet the scripts and then plan the training,“ he explains. “It is essential for the actors to develop the body language of a Kalari practitioner. So, we first teach them a bit of basic chuvadukal so they get the postures right to train for the action scenes,“ he explains.

TEACHING JACKIE CHAN
This was also the method used to train Jackie Chan for the Hollywood movie The Myth in 2004. Chan was apparently impressed with a video clip featuring Sathyan's Kalari performance and invited the Trivandrum-based master to act in the film as well as train the actor. “I was in Shanghai for 30 days,“ he says. “We had limited time to train Chan. He was well-versed in martial arts such as kung fu and wing chun but they are totally different from Kalaripayattu. He, however, quickly learnt the moves. He is talented when it comes to delivering even a small move dramatically.“

Bollywood actor Om Puri too receives similar praise. The actor had trained under trainer Shivakumar while working in Lenin Rajendran's Puravrutham. “We trained in the forests of Wayanad, where the movie was shot. What made the experience unforgettable was that Puri was adamant about learning Kalari from its basics so it doesn't look like he was acting. He valued and enjoyed each lesson,“ Shivakumar explains.

KALARI TRAVERSES BORDERS
Incidentally, Kalari's popularity is surging worldwide, say experts. “Hollywood star and Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano (of Zatoichi and Thor fame) often flies down to India to train in Kerala's martial arts form,“ says Sunil Kumar.