Won't Let Anyone Decide Whether I Should Be Happy Or Unhappy, Says Vidyut Jammwal

Vidyut Jammwal was not worried about the consequences when he publicly expressed his disappointment on being excluded by Disney+ Hotstar for a special announcement of direct digital releases of seven Hindi films, which also included his movie Khuda Hafiz.

"A BIG announcement for sure! 7 films scheduled for release but only 5 are deemed worthy of representation. 2 films, receive no invitation or intimation. It’s a long road ahead. THE CYCLE CONTINUES," Vidyut had shared at the time in a response to film trade analyst Taran Adarsh's tweet that featured the announcement news.

Vidyut, who never shies away from speaking his mind, has now opened up about what really bothered him about the entire episode and why he decided to directly call out the platform on social media.

"The funny thing is that I woke up in the morning and I read that (Taran Adarsh's) tweet and I asked myself a question, 'Why have these guys (Disney+ Hotstar) not mentioned my name?' I swear to god the moment that thought came to me, I tweeted exactly what was conceived in my head. I just wanted an answer. And, divine played such a great role in the form of the Indian audiences. They responded much more than I'd expected. Though I hadn't even given it a thought whether it'd be positive or negative. That was the real achievement.

"I have been professionally raised in a ring since the age of 6. I'm used to being kicked, punched, slapped, and thrown out. But that doesn't affect me. I will not give up till the time it's all over. So for me, these things don't matter. I'm just moving in a direction. If I feel like saying something, I do. Like one of my fans recently tweeted, 'No tweet for Sushant (Singh Rajput)?' But my point is why should I tweet or who should I tweet for? His family is not reading the tweets. Also, everybody doesn't mourn the same way," said Vidyut.

Speaking up often comes at a great professional cost in the film business, but Vidyut seems unfazed by it as he says he has very different fears in life.

"I have so many other fears to deal with that these fears (losing out on projects) don't really matter. These are very common man's fears. I was chatting with my mother day before yesterday and I told her, 'I have met ambitious people in Mumbai and they are very ambitious, but I still want to tell you my ambition is bigger than anybody I have met till now.'

"I'm representing a martial art which is 3,000 years old. It's called Kalaripayattu. It's a mother of all martial arts. It's my responsibility to make sure that everybody at least knows about it. People can't even pronounce the name. In my 10 years of journey, at least some people now know about Kalaripayattu. So my ambition is to get this martial art the credibility that it deserves. These small things don't matter to me. I'm going on that path. When I started playing a henchman, I didn't think that 'Oh my god, I'm playing a henchman.' I was just doing my martial art and was promoting it through my films," Vidyut added.

Vidyut, who is one of the finest, most dynamic, and resourceful martial artists of this generation, is often pitted against Tiger Shroff, another popular action star in Bollywood. When asked if the comparisons bother him, considering he comes from a non-film background, the actor said, "When people applaud me I don't get influenced by it. They can't make me happy. They can't make me unhappy. This is how I am. I'm trained like this (martial art). I see people around me getting affected about everything whether it is outsider vs insider debate or something, but it doesn't affect me at all. I'm going on a journey which is my own and I won't let anyone decide whether I should be happy or unhappy."

The actor is currently gearing up for the digital release of Yaara, which is a crime drama that tests an enduring friendship among four notorious criminals. It also stars Amit Sadh, Vijay Varma, Shruti Haasan and Kenny Basumatary in lead roles.

Talking about the film, he said, "We were all cast according to the personalities that we are and it was quite easy because we were just being ourselves. We were having fun. I personally feel after Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara, there weren't great movies about friendship. We don't normally make movies on friendship. So, every time somebody watches any of the characters in this film, they will resonate with somebody that they have. I'm very proud of what Tigmanshu has done. Also, everybody was more interested in working with Tigmanshu then thinking about what's going to happen. Because we all think that he's quite an institute in himself. There was so much to learn from him."

Yaara will stream on ZEE5 from July 30 onwards.