Action star Vidyut Jammwal donated Rs500,000 (Dh24,486) to the Ekaveera Kalaripayattu Academy with a promise of supporting and promoting the students for the rest of his life.
Jammwal said: “The traditional health [care and prevention] methods of India need to be reactivated. Kalaripayattu is the best available ancient health culture alive today. The need of the hour is to bring this art to the world.
“Starting from Kerala, by funding and supporting the Gurus of Kalaripayattu and Kalaris [schools] financially is only the first step. I have bigger plans for Kalaripayattu and it’s traditional as well as modern practitioners in near future.”
Jammwal has been a student of Kalaripayattu since he was young. The ‘Commando’ actor is known for incorporating martial arts in his movie stunts as well.
The academy endeavours to mentor children learning the ancient discipline of Kalaripayattu. A young student named Neelakandan of the academy, took to Twitter to express his gratitude to the ‘Khuda Haafiz’ actor.
The young martial artist said: “Extremely grateful and honored! Met @VidyutJammwal in Mumbai and he has supported Ekaveera Kalaripayattu academy with a huge contribution of 5 lakh rupees. This will go a long way in helping us achieve our dream of promoting Kalaripayattu across India.”
Popularly known as Prince of Kalaripayattu, Neelakandan has shown incredible skills, nailed challenging physical feats and has earned the status of a social media star.
Promising that he has bigger plans for Kalaripayattu and that he will help anyone promoting the ancient discipline, Jammwal congratulated Neelakandan and his father who runs the academy.
