In memory of Jolly Bastian

The stunt master who worked in over 800 films died of cardiac arrest this week. Stanley Carvalho salutes his spirit of adventure

In the early ’90s, when I first met the young stuntman Jolly Bastian for an interview, I asked him if he was afraid of death. “Who is not afraid of death. Before every stunt I pray and attribute my success to god,” he said.

Until the end, Bastian remained religious and it was perhaps prayers that helped him while executing death-defying stunts in the many films he acted in.

Bastian, 57, who passed away on Tuesday (December 26) following a cardiac arrest, carved a distinctive niche for himself in the perilous world of stunts — first as a stuntman and later as director/choreographer.  As the leading stuntman in Karnataka and the south, Bastian worked in over 800 films, mostly doubling for heroes and as stunt master.

He was barely 21 years when he made his debut in the Kannada film ‘Premaloka’ (1987) as a body double for actor-director V Ravichandran. From then on, there was no looking back. He went on to execute riskier stunts in films such as ‘Indrajeet’, ‘Annaiah’, ‘Shanti Kranti’, ‘Bangalore Days’, ‘Gaalipata’ and others.

Within a decade, he became an independent stunt choreographer for Ravichandran’s Kannada film ‘Putnanja’(1995).

Soon offers came pouring in from Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film producers and directors and Bastian was swamped with work.

He choreographed stunts for many Malayalam movies such as ‘Kammatipadam’, ‘Angamali Diaries’, ‘Operation Java’, ‘Ayalum Njanum’, ‘Driving Licence’ and ‘Nina Thaan Case Kodu’, to name a few.

Mammootty’s ‘Kannur Squad’ is the last movie in Malayalam where Bastian worked as a stunt director.

Apart from Kannada and Malayalam films, Bastian worked in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films.

The well-built stuntman’s tour-de-force was on vehicles – two-wheelers and four-wheelers.  Motorcycle jumps and car jumps, bike and car chases, sending cars flying in the air or setting it tumbling, he executed the stunts effortlessly.

In Kannada film ‘Lock-up Death’, he successfully did a matador jump over another burning matador van. In Telugu movie ‘Raktha Jwala’ he sent a car tumbling half-a-dozen times and during each turn a piece of the car broke off, becoming a complete wreck in the end. 

In ‘Bale Chatura’, he took a leap on a motorcycle while petrol bombs exploded on the ground. In ‘Shanti Kranti’, Bastian jumped with his motorcycle over a moving truck.

In film ‘Sundara Kandam’, he had to topple an open jeep six times.  It was one of his best stunts at the time but he broke his collarbone.

The veteran stuntman who was former president of the Karnataka Stunt Directors and Professionals Association, has doubled for actors like Vishnuvardhan, Ambarish, Prabhakar and others.

From stunts to character roles, the leap was met tough. Bastian was blessed with a handsome personality, good acting and singing skills. After essaying his role admirably in TV serial ‘Aasegalu Nooraru’, he found himself signing up for films.

He donned the role of a sub-inspector in ‘Veerappan’ while ‘Lock-up Death’ had Bastian playing a character role.

Alongside stunts and acting, Bastian made his directorial debut in 2013 with ‘Ninangagi Kadiruve’, a romantic thriller, following it up with another Tamil film.

The road to stardom was rough and risky but Bastian remained undaunted. He suffered many injuries, yet continued to risk life and limb to hit the bull’s eye. Such was his passion for stunts and action.

Born in Alleppey, Bastian grew up in Bengaluru. After his studies, he worked as a mechanic but soon swapped that for adrenaline-kicking stunts.  For someone who was fighting fit, his sudden death came as a rude shock to many.