'Sooryavanshi' fame Amritpal Singh talks about his journey from stuntman to an actor

Becoming the first film to enter the prestigious 100 crore club of Bollywood in almost two years, Rohit Shetty's cop actioner Sooryavanshi starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif came out to be the biggest movie of the year and continues to attract the crowd in the cinema halls. Commended for its high octane action sequences, the film turned out to be a big opportunity for up-and-coming actor Amritpal Singh who had earlier worked with director Rohit Shetty as a stuntman in multiple projects.

In an exclusive interview with Republic Media Network, the artist opened up about his ambitious journey of starting his career in showbiz as a stuntman in 2012 and establishing himself as a talented actor one movie at a time. 

Amritpal Singh's journey: From stuntman to an actor

The movie, undoubtedly, tested the action and drama range of the cast. One, in particular, was actor Amritpal Singh, playing Abbas, who recently made a transition from a stuntman to being in front of the camera. After starting his journey with renowned director Rohit Shetty as Abhishek Bachchan's body double in the 2012 entertainer Bol Bachchan, the actor received an offer from the director during rehearsing a stunt for the film Simmba. He stated,

''And during Simmba, when we rehearsed the police station action, we rehearsed that particular sequence a month before the shoot started. So, as I rehearsed on behalf of Ranvir Singh, he (Rohit Shetty) saw me rehearsing and performing and he asked me that if I would like to play Sadashiv Ranade, and I was more than happy as it was coming from him.''

Amritpal Singh was quick to grab the opportunity to play Sadashiv Ranade, who eventually dies in the film. However, that was not the end of the acting career for the stuntman-turned-actor as he was called back by Rohit Shetty's team to work in Sooryavanshi. He recalled,

''I wasn't expecting a call from Rohit sir’s team for an acting part, but I was surprised that Rohit sir had asked one of his chief assistant directors to call me up and ask me to do the role of Abbas. And as soon as she narrated the role, I was so happy that it's such a strong character, of course, and I would have loved to play it. And I'm glad that I played that particular character.''

He also got candid about his surreal experience of working with Rohit Shetty as an actor by saying,

''You're an actor now, and he's treating you as an actor now. It feels a bit weird for me because I worked with him from the grassroots level, but it's been a surreal experience for me to face the camera and be in front of the camera. In a couple of sequences, Rohit sir was even operating the camera while I was facing the camera, especially in the mandir-masjid sequence, Rohit sir himself was shooting that particular sequence. He was doing those handheld shots. It was all so surreal and so emotional that towards the end of that particular sequence, I just hugged him. ''

Amritpal Singh further talked about his next venture with actor John Abraham for the movie titled Attack. Set to release on January 26 next year, Ampritpal Singh worked as a stunt director for the film. Lastly, the actor revealed his idols by stating, My idol as far as acting is concerned, Amitabh Bachchan. And as far as action is concerned, it is definitely my father Mr. Manjit Singh.'' Manjit Singh was a renowned stuntman for veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan.

Image: Instagram/@amritsingh099