Fight Master Jashuva’s journey to the film industry has been fraught with difficulties. He grew up in absolute poverty, strode like a colossus and finally became a fight master in the year 2012. There is a lot to learn from this forty five year old man who is a personification of strong will and determination. In this small chat, Stunt Jashuva as he is fondly called recollects his childhood and rise in Telugu cinema to Y.Sunita Chowdhary of Klapboardpost.com.
“I am from Muthukur Mandal in Nellore. My entry into the film industry happened by chance an dI will come to that a bit later. My father would demonstrate “Karra Saamu”, it is a kind of skill that he was proud of. He would move along, thin stick in swift, multiple directions and people would be in awe of him. He would train the people in the villages and I was very young at that time. We siblings were around seven in number and I was the seventh child. My father would encourage all my brothers to learn Karra Saamu. I couldn’t because I was born awkward, with a huge tummy, thin limbs and hands and was treated shabbily. I was born weak, and at that time no one named me, so the doctor did and everyone began calling me Jashuva. I would spend all my time, sitting in a corner and watching my father teach Karra Saamu,” he says.
When Jashuva came to the 9th and the tenth standard, he was filled with a strong desire to learn something, accomplish and get an identity for himself in this society. In the family, his father always had a soft spot for his siblings but never him. The father believed that Jashuva was a misfit and wouldn’t be capable of achieving anything or being of any help to the family. He says sadly, “If there was a dog at home, I would get nothing to eat. If it wasn’t there, I would be fed instead of the dog. I wanted to play games but the peer group would push me out. Father would work in the hospital and come at some time to the house. Those days having a meal was a luxury. However, I was blessed with the art of sketching, painting. I became a national champion in the painting competition. Even then humiliation continued. I told my master at school that I would like to dance and everybody burst out laughing. I immediately began running and practising gymnastics secretly. I was sent to Chennai to appear for the painting competition and I would go to the beach every morning. At the beach, I would see the fighters practising for a competition. I was in Chennai for one month for preparation of the exam and in this course, I met Babu who was a part of Super Subbarayan team. I would wake up early and learn the basics from him.”
After the stint in Chennai, Jashuva returned to Nellore. His father stopped playing Karra Saamu in Jatara and someone from his community insulted him and he was prevented from going to the church. Jashuva was helpless, he was just 15 years old. He shares, “I made a decision. I gathered some ‘ganeru pappu’ (a certain poison from a flower) and told my friend Sudhakar that if at all in my practise, I break any of my bones and become useless and invalid, I should be given this poison as my family can’t feed me. After one year, the guy who taught me gymnastics became my student, disciple. He touched my feet. I clearly remember, I began practising in August 95 and by October 96, I performed gymnastics at the national level.” Jashuva’s determination was rock solid and he states only he and his god knew how much effort he put into being where he is today. We ask him, in the absence of finances, how he took care of his diet and pat comes the reply, “The heart needs happiness, not diet. It is more than a diet. Applause, a good word and a pat on the shoulder is enough for an artist or a sports person to go that extra mile. It fills the tummy. In front of determination, hunger doesn’t stand or work. In one year, I developed a six pack body and did gymnastics for my father. He became very emotional and told how he planned to kill me when I was a child because he couldn’t feed so many children. He was throwing me into a lake and i clinged to him tightly and he got me back. He added that he could never forgive himself had I died. There would be a lot of regret. I began painting and working in an animation company, but did not leave my gymnastics practise. I relocated to Hyderabad in 1996.”
As Jashuva began his practise in Hyderabad, he met a lot of fighters from the film industry. They advised him to take up a career as a fighter in the movies and some masters did encourage him. He began conducting free classes at Indira park from 6 am to 9 am and it became a hobby. “If someone offered money, they would take but never demanded,” he quips. In 2003, there was a selection in Hyderabad and he was picked as a fighter and then a master. He worked for ten years after which he was upgraded as a master.
About his father and his family, he says, “I don’t know if I made them happy but I made sure I didn’t make them unhappy.” Jashuva built a house and he regrets his parents not being alive to live with him or go around in his car. He built a small church in memory of his father, exactly in the same place where he was prevented from going in. He is blessed with two children, they are educated and his son is being groomed as a fighter too. Jashuva worked in Run Raja Run, Express Raja and he got a national award for Ghazi. He acknowledges the help and encouragement by UV Creations and says he is ready for change. “Every field has its own importance and we have to change with the times and offer what the audience wants. VV Vinayak was famous for blasting sumos in mid air and ten films that followed used the same concept. SV Krishna Reddy used songs and some people followed the same. Only when there is competition, creativity and talent comes to the fore. We should never relax or retire.”
