Jolly Bastian (24 September 1966 – 26 December 2023) was an Indian stunt master predominantly working in the South Indian film industry. His portfolio of 900 films included ''

Putnanja ''Putnanja'' is a 1995 Kannada language film directed by Ravichandran and produced by A. Narsimhan. This film stars Ravichandran, Meena, Umashri, Lokesh in lead roles. Music was composed by Hamsalekha. The film is based on the 1972 Tamil movie ...

'', '' Annayya'', '' Nattukku Oru Nallavan'', ''

Bangalore Days ''Bangalore Days'' is a 2014 Indian Malayalam-language coming of age romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Anjali Menon, and produced by Anwar Rasheed and Sophia Paul under the banner Anwar Rasheed Entertainments and Weekend Blo ...

'', '' Crazy Star'', '' Super Ranga'', '' Shyloo'', '' Aramane'', ''

Gaalipata ''Gaalipata'' ( ) is a 2008 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Yogaraj Bhat. It features an ensemble cast consisting of Ganesh, Anant Nag, Rajesh Krishnan, Diganth, Daisy Bopanna, Neethu and Bhavana Rao. ...

'', ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

'', Overtake (2017), Operation Java (2021) and Oru Cinemakkaran (2017) He also ran an event management and orchestra group named 24 Events, in which he was also the lead singer.

Early life

Jolly Bastian was born on 24 September 1966 in

Alleppey Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

, but was brought up in

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. He studied at St Patrick's, Bangalore. Both his father and grandfather were mechanical technicians.

First break and growth

Bastian too started off as a mechanic. Whilst performing a wheelie on his bike, a filmmaker noticed and introduced him to the

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

film industry as a stuntman. His first project was to be the dupe for Ravichandran in ''

Premaloka ''Premaloka'' () is a 1987 Indian romantic musical film written and directed by Ravichandran in his directorial debut. The film was simultaneously made in Kannada and Tamil, with the Tamil version titled ''Paruva Ragam'' (). It was produced ...

''. Jolly was just 17 years old then. Until 1994, he was involved in small stunts and then he got his dream break as the action director in Ravinchandran's ''

'', which went on to become a super hit. Bastian was also the chief of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Stunt Directors and Professionals Association.

Professional risks

Bastian was known for his bike and car stunts in

Sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

. A bomb blast scene in Bhale Chatura broke his collarbone and two ribs. A bike fall in

damaged his face and knees. He said, "As a stunt man, the profession itself is risky. Today there is new equipment to help us. Ropes and harness equipment have made jumps and other stunts safe to a large extent. Fireproof clothes have made working in scenes involving fire safe."

Directorial stint

Bastian was the director of the film ''Ninagaagi Kaadiruve'', which was commercially unsuccessful. In an interview, he said, "My directorial venture- ''Ninagagi Kaadiruve'', a romantic thriller, wasn't a bad movie. I had to suffer a lot due to a wrong partner. It was a tough phase in my life. I am doing another movie shortly, which is in the writing phase. Another original story like my debut work. I'll continue to make original movies instead of remakes. I want to show that creativity can mint money and not pose financial loss to a producer. I want to break that barrier!"

Singer

Jolly had an orchestra group '24 Events' in which he was the lead singer. He also sang on occasions.

Death

Bastian died of a heart attack on 26 December 2023, at the age of 57.

Filmography

* ''

'' (Kannada) * ''

'' (Kannada) * '' Annayya'' (Telugu) * ''

Butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

'' (Malayalam) * '' Dum'' (Tamil) * '' Nattukku Oru Nallavan'' (Tamil) * Ayalum Njanum Thammil (Malayalam) * ''

'' (Malayalam) * '' Crazy Star'' (Kannada) * '' Super Ranga'' (Kannada) * '' Shyloo'' (Kannada) * '' Aramane'' (Kannada) * ''

'' (Kannada) * Nakshatram (Telugu) * Popcorn Monkey Tiger (Kannada) * Operation Java (Malayalam) * Oru Kuttanadan Blog (Malayalam) * Angamaly Diaries (Malayalam) * Kammattipadam (Malayalam) * Kali (Malayalam) * Aadupuliyattam (Malayalam) * Kaduva (Malayalam) * Kammara Sambhavam (Malayalam) * Villain (Malayalam) * Kaaval (Malayalam) * Erida (Malayalam-Tamil) * Masterpiece (Kannada) * Masterpiece (Malayalam) * Highway (Malayalam) * Johnnie Walker (Malayalam) * Love (Kannada) * Vamshi (Kannada) * The Body (Hindi) * Darwaza Bandh Rakho (Hindi) * Bailaras (Punjabi) * Chachi 420 (Punjabi)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bastian, Jolly 1966 births 2023 deaths Indian stunt performers Male actors from Alappuzha Male actors from Bengaluru Male actors in Kannada cinema Male actors in Telugu cinema Male actors in Tamil cinema Male actors in Malayalam cinema 20th-century Indian male actors