Happy Teachers Day 2024: Every year, on September 5, we celebrate Teachers’ Day, which also marks the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Even, our film industry has often highlighted the importance of ‘gurus’ in our lives – as school educators, life coaches, or instructors—demonstrating their profound impact through a variety of films.
Two such Bollywood films that are perfect examples of the importance of a coach in one's life are Salman Khan's Sultan and Aamir Khan’s Dangal. In an exclusive interview with Zoom, Jagdish Kaliraman, also a former wrestler who coached Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma in Sultan and assisted with the auditions for Geeta and Babita in Dangal, talked about his experiences in brief.
Jagdish Kaliraman on being Salman Khan's 'Guru'
When asked about his experience with Salman Khan as his 'guru,’ Jagdish said, “He is truly very very down-to-earth and extremely disciplined. He never missed out on his workout, and it went on for at least two hours, no matter what he never missed his workout. I am honoured to have had this opportunity to be able to train Salman sir, Anushka Sharma, Ali Abbas Zafar in Sultan and this I will cherish for life.”
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He further added, "He was very calm and patient with the whole process, he always used to sit and understand the whole scene, choreographies and even watch videos to work the details. I was lucky enough to coach him for his fight scenes in Sultan.” When we asked if he was a good student, Jagdish laughed and said, “Indeed the best one as he is very considerate and listens carefully.”
"Even if he did not like the choreography or thought it might injure him, he would politely tell us to change it. We used to discuss and watch videos and change them accordingly. He was so down-to-earth that he always used to call me sir not once did he take my name," he shared.
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Going forward, Jagdish shared how he met Salman's uncle, who used to live in Indore and was also a wrestler. He shared that the day Salman's uncle visited Master Chandgiram Akhara in Civil Lines, everybody was just talking about their wrestling day, “Mahaul ban gaya tha pura…” he said.
Anushka Sharma is very dedicated: Jagdish Kaliraman
Talking about training Anushka Sharma for the film, Jagdish quipped, "She too is a great human being, very dedicated, and she also used to respect me a lot."
Sharing an anecdote, Jagdish added, "Sometimes, we used to go to the Yash Raj Studios at night to rehearse and not once did she throw a tantrum. She was always there to practice, and she was very disciplined. She always had only one goal – to give her 100% and nothing less. In fact, Anushka told me once that the scene where the player runs on the mat holding the flag after winning the medal, she will never forget that scene as it is so heartwarming."
Jagdish also revealed that he was the one who taught Salman Khan his iconic 'Sultan signature step’ for the film. He said, “It took him a lot of practice because it looks easy, but it is not. However, it was never an issue with Salman Khan as he is too dedicated towards his work.”
Sultan was released in July 2016, featuring Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma, Amit Sadh, Randeep Hooda, Kumud Mishra and Kubbra Sait in key roles.