At Subramanian, a small town in Karnataka, Mollywood superstar Mammootty stood holding a six-feet-long urumi (ancient steel whip). Three toughies approach him with swords aloft. As Mammootty swings the weapon, one of them lunges forward and his sword grazes the back of the hero’s hand. “Mammootty sir started bleeding,” says Kalaripayattu master and choreographer K Sunil Kumar Gurukkal. Thy were shooting an action scene for Mammankam in February.
The shoot was immediately stopped, and crew members rushed to get ice. “First aid and medicines were given, and within half an hour, a grimacing Mammootty resumed shooting,” says the 50-year-old kalari maestro.Accidents like these happen rarely because Sunil expertly trains his students, both actors and trainees at his institute, CVN Kalari in the nitty-gritties of the art form.
Classes begin sharp at six, with Sunil coaching a batch of 40 students for three hours. But he is more than just a kalarippayattu master. The old battlecraft also teaches warriors in healing—a knowledge crucial to the survival of medeival fighters from wounds.“After a bath and breakfast, I first meet patients with knee ligament injuries, shoulder dislocations and other joint related issues,” says Sunil.
The centre opens again for patients from 4 pm to 7.30 pm. Sunil prescribes medicines and his assistants provide physical treatment. Meanwhile, his brothers, Anil and Gopakumar conduct the evening kalari classes from 4 to 6.30 pm.
Sunil was the one who trained the Padmaavat actors for the fight scenes.For about six months, Sunil would regularly go to Mumbai to train Ranveer Singh and Shahid. “I had worked extensively with Ranveer earlier for Bajirao Mastani,” says Sunil. “He picked up the moves very fast, as did Shahid.”
He is all praise for the two stars. “They were completely dedicated,” says Sunil.
He uses a basic teaching method for the stars. “In the beginning, we teach a lot of animal postures,” he says. ‘‘These include the varaha (wild boar), simham (lion), sarpam (snake) and gaja (elephant). These are all warrior postures. Thereafter, I teach them the forward and backward moves. Training with swords and Urumi come sin the end.”
Sunil had also forayed into Hollywood with Jackie Chan’s film The Myth.“Thanks to my father, kalari has become a passion for us. And thanks to kalari, every day is joyful for me,” says Sunil.For a true warrior, the battle itself is the joy than winning.
A Long and Eventful Journey
It was his father, Narayanan, who established the CVN Kalari Nadakavu in 1945. And he only introduced kalaripayattu in Malayalam films. “He worked with acting legends like Sathyan in the film Thacholi Othenan (1964),” says Sunil. Following his father’s demise, Sunil started working in Mollywood, and other South-Indian film industries. But he, and his two brothers, also run their centre in Kozhikode and Kochi.
Classes: They hold sessions in the morning and evening every day. Many foreign students also come to learn Kalari. Some of them have even started their Kalari units in Europe.
Wellness: The centre also provides rejuvenation packages like herbal oil and foot massages for greater body flexibility and weight loss.