Mixed martial arts in Sandalwood

Does a horse rider make a convincing martial arts expert? Well, anything is possible, as long as you are talking about movies. However, when filmmakers begin to add logic to their way of presenting a story, one is willing to pin new hopes. The film in question is Khartik, which stars Khartik Shetty and Archana Gupta in lead roles. 

Khartik plays a horse trainer in this action-packed film, a skill that he has worked on since childhood. “I am quite used to playing  horse polo. So when I was offered a role as a horse trainer, I was quite excited about being able to showcase my horse riding skills alongside acting,” says the Mumbai-based actor.

The film, he says, has been shot rather stylistically. “It has a very western feel to it. So nothing is unbelievable or over-the-top. Which is one reason why we decided to use a different kind of martial art form for the fight sequences. I trained for over three months in Singapore especially for MMA or Mixed Martial Arts. It is a form of martial art that is more rugged. You will see the difference when you watch the fights, the movements are convincing and in sync with the character I play,” adds Khartik, who reveals that he had to first convince his stunt director that he wanted to try out something away from the tried and tested.

While this is Khartik’s second film in Sandalwood, the actor says films are his only passion. “My family has been into movies in Mumbai. We have worked on a couple of Marathi films. I have also worked as assistant director to actor-director Mahesh Manjrekar on films like Viruddh and Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi. It is natural for someone like me to have direction on my mind, but after I signed up for my previous Kannada film Yuva, my career seems to have taken off on a completely different track,” he says.