Patna girl Neetu Chandra, who has shifted base to Los Angeles, is billed alongside James Faulkner (of Game of Thrones, Season 6 and The Hound of Baskervilles fame) and Michael Bisping, the sole British winner of an Ultimate Fighter Challenge title, in the upcoming martial arts film Never Back Down: Revolt, the fourth in the Never Back Down series. She shared her Hollywood experience during her recent India trip.

There must be celebration in the family. It’s your brother’s birthday.

Yes. And yesterday was my younger brother’s birthday. We stay together in Mumbai and we never have a lot of guests. It’s just their girlfriends and a couple of cousins. It was nothing different this year.

You must be in a mood for celebration even careerwise with a Hollywood film under you belt.

Hundred per cent. I enjoyed every bruise, every cut I got while shooting this film. I did my own action. No (body) double for me. Never Back Down 4 is a woman-oriented action film.

How did you land the role?

I was attending a special screening of Bad Boys in Calvercity, Los Angeles where I am based now. There I met the producer David Zelon to whom I was introduced by Palak Patel, executive vice-president of Sony Pictures. I said I was a martial artiste and have represented India thrice. He said he had a film for me and asked me to meet in two-three weeks. He invited me for lunch. He made me meet the writer Audrey (Arkins) and told her in front of me, ‘I’d like you to write a character around Neetu and her skills’. And that’s what she did. I play one of the two main female roles.

Talk about your martial arts background.

I am a black belt 4th Dan in taekwondo. I am also the brand ambassador of Taekwondo Federation of India, a Korean fraternity. I have been doing martial arts since school. I represented India when I was in ninth standard. I got an award in Hong Kong. Then I got an award from Atal Bihari Vajpayee when I was in first year of college. I am also the face of NBA Basketball in India.

Acting came to me. I never had plans for it. My mother enrolled me in martial arts when I was in the third or fourth standard. I have been kicking and punching ever since I remember. Even to open the door or flush the toilet, I only used kicks. You get up from the pot and do a back kick, and it flushes! (Laughs)

Neetu with the cast and crew of Never Back Down: Revolt during shooting in London Sourced by the correspondent

You started in Bollywood with the Priyadarshan comedy Garam Masala....

Haan, Garam Masala se start kiya tha when I was 19. Then Traffic Signal, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, which got a National Award, 13B with Madhavan, Rann with Amitabh Bachchan, Apartment, No Problem… I also kept doing theatre all this while.

Why did you look West?

It’s a patriarchal society where people have certain notions of a female. You have to be shy when a guy is looking at you. You have to be talking, walking, laughing and wearing clothes in a certain way for you to be accepted. But I am a sportswoman. I don’t do any of that.

When I approached people I had earlier worked with to give me certain movies which they were making, mostly action movies, I was told ‘no’ because they had a set criteria for casting those girls, even though they were not action-trained. They would be sent to New York or some place for three or four months to be trained. There is nothing wrong in that — they can cast whoever they want — but I always felt that since I had done martial arts for 15-plus years, I had the right to go look for my own opportunities. I lost my father to cancer. I have no one in the industry to support me. When I was not given all these movies, I started travelling across the world.

What were the makers looking for when casting for those roles?

I don’t know. But with whoever they had cast, those films did not work, so something must have been wrong. That disappointed me but also encouraged me to look out of this market. My aunt is in New York. In July 2016, when I decided to spend some time with her, I messaged Irrfan Khan. I had met him at social gatherings. He was courteous enough to connect me to Jay Khanna, his manager in Los Angeles. His company manages the top stars in Hollywood.

How easy or tough was the entry to Hollywood?

Khanna was helpful. But I also faced outright rejection. Of the two other top agencies I met, one told me, ‘Like other Indian actors, you will roam around for some days, feel homesick and go back. It’s a waste of time for us’. I told him that I was there to stay and I’d come back. I have done a Greek film, I am doing a Korean film. I have done English and Hindi films. I can work anywhere. He was quite rude. I returned to India and got my O1 visa. On January 21, 2019, I landed in the US. I took up a house 200m away from the headquarters of Netflix. I mailed the agent my Hollywood address, my social security number and my post-paid US phone number. And I said, ‘I told you I will come back’. This time, he asked his manager to send me to auditions. I got three projects, including a short film, The Worst Day.

In the meantime, I got the first National Award for a film from Bihar for a Maithili movie, Mithila Makhaan, as producer. My brother directed it.

When did Never Back Down happen?

I got offered Never Back Down: Revolt in October 2019. Then Covid happened. In July, David (Zelon), the producer, called and said, ‘No matter what happens, we will shoot in November’. I started to train. I met Kellie Madison, the director of the film, who is one of the top action directors of the world. We had discussions over Zoom.

Kellie kept pushing me through the film. She kept telling me that nobody could do the role of Jaya like me. Every day I was getting kicked and punched. I worked with Michael Bisping, a world champion in the middleweight category in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). I never worried about whether I looked beautiful. In fact, I had a cut on my face. There are some amazing girls in the movie — Brooke Johnston from Toronto, Olivia Popica from France... we are friends for life. James Faulkner is also in the movie. We shot in and around London.

What is the story of the film?

All the girls are kidnapped. The Sony Pictures release describes my role as “a cold brutal fighter who is kidnapped and forced to compete in elite underground fights and has to battle her way out to freedom against a gang who runs the fight trafficking ring”.

In this Covid situation, how risky were fight scenes which have zero social distancing?

Every three days we were tested. We had to wear masks all the time. Every five or 10 metres they had sanitising stations on the set, and we had to sanitise ourselves. We had signed papers that we wouldn’t meet anyone even if there was a break in shooting. So I could not meet a single friend in London. The nature of our work is so intimate that we’d be safe only if we were disciplined and careful. We never shook hands. Our call sheets had minute-to-minute details on where we’d have to be on the sets. Everything moved in a rhythm. Covid is a faceless enemy against which we have to unite to win.

When will the film release?

In five-six months, I believe. I am leaving for the US in end-January. My next project there starts in February.

Favourite actresses

Uma Thurman Sourced by the correspondent

• Charlize Theron
• Milla Jovovich
• Uma Thurman
• Jennifer Garner

Fave action films

• Kill Bill
• Angel Has Fallen
• Black Panther
• Wanted

Fave franchises

• James Bond
• Mission:Impossible
• Star Wars
• Wonder Woman