Robert Downey Jr, welcome to India. So will you tell me what sequence you’ll be shooting today for the sequel of Guy Ritchie’s hit film Sherlock Holmes?
Today, we’ll be enacting the scene from Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Final Solution where Holmes and his arch enemy Prof Moriarty supposedly plunge down the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland to their deaths.
My god! That’s fantastic. So, you’ve chosen this spot here in Karnataka, the Hoggenakkal Falls, for the scene. After Iron Man, you must be doing your own stunts?
You must be crazy! Why should I risk my neck to do such a dangerous stunt? I’m an actor, not a professional stuntman. Guy Ritchie’s hired a local stunt artiste.
Oh, is it B.S. Balram, the Bangalore-based diving champion who was first thought to have been the stuntman for an 80-feet diving scene in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan?
Haven’t heard of him. No, my stunt double is this professional from Mumbai named Abhishek Bachchan. Apparently, he’s very good.
Um, yes. But didn’t you want to do your own stunt? Or [weak laugh] at least want the world to know that you did your own stunt?
Why on earth would I do that? I’m an actor and I want to focus on my acting. That’s why stuntmen exist. I would have put myself at physical risk only if I didn’t have hit films going for me.
{{/usCountry}}Why on earth would I do that? I’m an actor and I want to focus on my acting. That’s why stuntmen exist. I would have put myself at physical risk only if I didn’t have hit films going for me.
{{/usCountry}}Do say: I bet you can’t stab yourself in the stomach.
Don’t say: Can B.S. Balram act?