Popular Hindi actor Vidyut Jammwal, who is best known among Tamil cinema audiences for his roles in films Billa II (2012), Thuppakki (2012), and Anjaan (2014), was recently chosen as one of the top martial artists in the world for the year 2023. He sat down for an exclusive interview with National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the Editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus, to talk about his passion for martial arts, while also opening up on how he wasn't the first choice for the role of the antagonist in 'Thalapathy' Vijay's Thuppakki directed by AR Murugadoss.
Recollecting the casting process in the Vijay-starrer, Vidyut Jammwal said, "When I had gone for Thuppakki, I had 100% surrendered to Murugadoss. Everything he thought, everything he said, I was diligently listening to him. The interesting part was that I was originally cast as one of the side bad guys. I was not the main Thuppakki villain. So, the gentleman who was playing that character, I think three days before the shoot, he said, 'I've got a Hindi movie. I want to do that.' Three days before the shoot. And, how lucky am I!" He continued, "So, I remember meeting Murugadoss that evening... I hadn't met him before. He had seen my pictures and he had seen a video of mine from Sakthi. When I went to his house, he looked at me and said, 'I think you are the main villain.' So, I thought he was joking. I didn't realize that the person who was supposed to play that character had left the role and I couldn't believe it, and I thought maybe I've not understood what he said. And, he said, 'You are the bad guy.' And, I had not read the second part, the guy's (villain) role. So, when I went on the set, I had read the imperceptible role. I didn't believe him. So, lucky for me, he had offered me that role and this is all destiny. I was happy being that other character too, but when I went on set, I was that character."
Watch Vidyut Jammwal in conversation with Baradwaj Rangan in the video below:
