Thread: Jackie Chan and Kalaripayattu

Jackie Chan and the art of Kalaripayattu

George Iype in Kochi | June 07, 2005 12:42 IST



A chance encounter with Hollywood actor Jackie Chan has changed the life of Kerala's popular martial arts exponent, G Sathyanarayanan.

Last year, Chan happened to see a CD the Kerala Tourism Department sent him, requesting him to be the brand ambassador of its tourism initiatives.

Kerala Tourism could not get Chan, but Sathyanarayanan -- who performed the traditional Kerala martial art Kalaripayattu in the CD -- impressed Chan so much that the superstar invited him to be part of his new film.

Sathyanarayanan flew to Shanghai for a 30-day shoot with Chan for The Myth; the film includes Tony Leung Ka Fai, Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat and television actor Sudhanshu Pandey.

Since then, Sathyanarayanan has not looked back. "I am getting a number of offers from Hollywood. All because of Jackie Chan only," he told rediff.com.

According to Sathyanarayanan, a leading US filmmaker has offered him a key role as a martial arts fighter in a forthcoming, untitled film. "It is a great chance for me to work in Hollywood and present our traditional Kalaripayattu. I am taking this rich cultural art to Hollywood," he said.

Sathyanarayanan refused to divulge the details of the Hollywood film. "All I can say is that I have got a good role in it because the film is basically based on martial arts. The world will now see a lot of Kalaripayattu through the film," he said.

He said he has received enquiries from a few other film companies abroad about his expertise in Kalaripayattu. "It is all because of my Jackie Chan connection. You know, in the Jackie Chan film, I had a one-to-one fight sequence with him. He is simply superb," Sathyanarayanan said.

The Myth was earlier named Project So4.

Sathyanarayanan said the film is set in an imaginary country called Sadai between China and India. "I play the role of the prince of Sadai," he said.

Recently, the production team of The Myth contacted Satyanarayanan for more inputs on Kalaripayattu scenes. "Some of the dialogues of the film are in Malayalam. They wanted those to be translated for the English version of the film," he said.

And when is Satyanarayanan going to the US for his next film?

"Soon, I believe," he says.

Sathyanarayanan is the eldest son of Govindankutty Nair Gurukkal, who founded Kerala's most famous Kalaraipayattu school: C V N Kalari.

In the past, fighters from C V N Kalari have performed in several Asian countries like Japan as well as in Europe as part of the Indian government's cultural exchange programmes.

Kalarippayattu, considered to be the mother of all martial art forms, is a priceless asset to Kerala's heritage. An intricate blend of physical prowess, mindset, martial techniques and indigenous medical system, this form of armed, close quarter, hand-to-hand combat is unique to Kerala.

"It is a great feeling that Kalaripayattu is becoming a well-known martial art across the world. Now, foreign films are coming to endorse our great fighting skills," said Sathyanarayanan.


Link: Jackie Chan and Kalaripayattu

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Nice! The Chinese, Japanese, and Korean arts etc. have hogged the limelight for years. Now it's our turn.


Just so you know. The Shaolin temple in China, the holy grail for martial arts was setup by Batuo, an Indian Buddhist monk in approximately the 3-4th Century AD. About 50 years later, a certain Buddhist monk from Kerala who happened to be an expert in Kalaripayattu visited the Shaolin Temple. His name was Boddhidharma and he was appalled at the physically weak monks of the temple.

He taught them what the Chinese call 'The Eighteen Lohan Hands' and 'Sinew Metamorphosis', yoga-like movements and actual physical exercise. The Shaolin monks joined these two arts to together and over the next few centuries (the Chinese generals who were martial arts experts came to pray at the temple and observed the Shaolin monks and a fusion of Chinese martial arts and the arts of the monks occurred), proceeded to do extensive research on these arts and invented/discovered numerous fighting styles, techniques etc.

It is important to note that both Yoga (Chi Kung in Mandarin) and the martial arts (Gong Fu or Kung Fu) were found in China before the arrival of either Batuo or Boddhidharma, although the Shaolin monks were unaware/unskilled in it.

Kalaripayattu has not really changed much since Boddhidharma as the Indian martial artists emphasized tradition and the passing of skills unchanged from master to disciple. The vast difference in language and culture from state to state in India also prevented the spread of martial arts.

But the fusion of yoga and physical exercises found in Shaolin Kung Fu makes its practioners invulnerable to certain blows that might kill normal people. They also have superhuman stamina, and other such capabilities that normal humans don't possess. The ultimate martial art.

There are many off-shoots of Shaolin Kung Fu (Long form Kung Fu, White Crane Kung Fu etc.) but to my knowledge, the only Chinese martial art that fuses the yoga-like movements with physical exercises is Shaolin Kung Fu, though I may be wrong about that.