AARUSHI VEDIKHA, who train at Irfan Khan’s Fight Elite MMA, is making waves with her new role in Malayalam film Godha.
The film, which has wrestling as a dominant theme, has turned into a huge success and Aarushi is apparently enjoying the whole experience.
Born into a martial arts family, the Mumbai-based Aarushi started training Karate at a young age itself. Under her father, who was a Karate instructor, Aarushi took Blue Belt in the martial art before taking a hiatus altogether.
Years later, she took up Mixed Martial Arts and trained alongside the likes of big names like Irfan Khan and Bharat Kandare. She also had a stint under Tayyab Ansari.
Aarushi Vedikha: I train at Irfan’s gym. There, Bharat used to teach me wrestling and Irfan used to teach me kickboxing. I didn’t train MMA for a professional fight or something, but it’s just my passion and I love the sport.
Apart from her love for MMA, Aarushi dreams to build a career in acting. This is why she attended the audition for Godha when the opportunity poked up. Aarushi was cast in a pivotal role as an amateur wrestler in the film. And to prepare herself for the character; she received some help from Bharat.
Aarushi Vedikha: Bharat was teaching me wrestling and I told him about the role in the film. I knew the basics but I needed more for the film. He used to help me in Irfan’s gym whenever he was free and got time.
Talking about the film, Aarushi described it as the best experience of her career. She had high praise for the director Basil Joseph, who she pointed out as friendly and an amazing person. The actor also spoke highly of her co-actors Tovino Thomas and Wamiqa Gabbi, who played the lead role in the film.
When asked about the difference between wrestling in real life and wrestling in reel life, Aarushi had the following to say.
Aarushi Vedikha: It’s not that different because we have to perform either way. We have to use the same power and same feel but the thing is, we should take care of the other person and not hurt them.
After Godha, Aarushi has a Marathi-Movie lined up next, in which she plays the role of a kick-boxer. Going ahead, she plans to do action flicks so that she can keep both her love for combat sports and films together.
BONUS: Bharat Kandare and Irfan Khan had the following to say about Aarushi.