Atlee directorial and Shahrukh Khan-starrer Jawan has created history by collecting over Rs 144 crore in one day worldwide. The movie is all over the internet, with praise coming from every nook and corner. Bhutan native Sangay Tsheltrim got to play a key role in his superhit movie. The Pioneer got on a quick call with the actor to know how he came on board this project, working with Khan and Atlee, among others.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan has just spent three days in theatres and has already amassed a gross of Rs 350 crore at the worldwide box office. SANGAY TSHELTRIM is one of those heroic entries under ATLEE’s direction who is also a part of representing the legend that all of them are working for — he was literally functioning as a gift to Shah Rukh Khan.
There is something very marvellous about this actor from Jawan that keeps us circling back to having an interview with him. Finally, the date was locked! A retired Army officer, yes. We have great reverence for you, Sangay. He’s like that combination of coming from a powerful arena to the highest-grossing area — oh, what a merger! He got lucky!
Even luckier because he’s been giving back-to-back hits with the Khans of Bollywood. Speaking to The Pioneer, he expressed, “I didn’t have to struggle. I’ll be honest! And, I am not apologetic about it because I have faced worsening challenges during my days in the military and when I used to be a very popular face for bodybuilding in the country. Salman Khan blessed me with good luck. Because he gave me a major role and I am not a character artist in Radhe, I am able to bag roles opposite only A-listers.” Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan are two of his biggest global names. “I come from the very tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, so it will always be an honour for me to work alongside actors like these. It’s difficult to penetrate this industry! But I am here to represent Bhutan,” he said.
The actor was actually madly in love with Salman, like any other boy would, especially his physique. As he grew older, he understood how charming of a personality Salman Khan is, and after a film with Shahrukh, he fell head over heels for the way he showcases romance on-screen.
Furthermore, speaking about his role in Jawan, the captain of the Royal Bodyguards shared, “My role in Jawan could be a very minuscule one, but it’s important for me to be there. I am connecting the story! I was happy to show my emotions.”
Yes, it’s the highest honour in Bhutan, and he was protecting his king and the royal family. Meanwhile, his admiration for Arnold Schwarzenegger was getting bigger, and his interests started to lie in bodybuilding too. Unfortunately, he had to resign! And then, fortunately, he brought so many international medals to his kingdom that today he doesn’t have any regrets so far. Nobody in the whole of Bhutan had any accolades in the history of sport until Sangay emerged.
“In 2021, Mukesh Chabra’s company called me. They asked me for my dates! The name SRK did’nt excite me to be a part of Jawan, but rather the emotional journey. Having said that, I was busy with my own home production when they approached me, so I turned down the offer. The next day, the direction team called me directly! Atlee really wanted me to be a part of his film, so I cancelled my home production for him. Immediately, I flew to Pune, and we began shooting,” he said of how he bagged the role in Jawan.
The first time he met Shahrukh, he was stunned to see the way he said, “Thank you for accepting to be a part of Jawan.”
That moved Sangay! He was very hyper on the sets, so it was SRK, who stopped him from being so excited during the scenes. Gaping into his eyes was tough for the actor! He goes on to share some more anecdotes: “Jawan, you see, is such a big-budget movie that so many stars were brought on board. The production was going insane! Dates were clashing and whatnot. I was working with Disney Pictures at the same time, and two of the days coincided with Red Chillies Entertainment. We had to make a deal! A day in Chennai, and soon leaving for Morocco. A sixteen-hour flight with layovers drained me. I was having showers in my vanity van, gosh. And when you land up on the sets of Jawan, you will be clueless as to what’s happening because so much is going on in this film.”
Bhutan is proud of him; this is a big deal for them. Sangay calls the king of Bhutan his inspiration and his only almighty. The king always wants the right representation of Bhutan across the globe. So he’s working for his country, not stardom. He said in conclusion, “My favourite genre is action; I grew up watching only action movies. That led him to be trained in martial arts, including boxing and taekwondo. I am very good at gun handling! I know all the tactics and firing moves. Four projects down, directors had to never waste time on me for this. I never take training from movies! The stunt team is always relaxing when it’s my time to do action (he laughed). I don’t want to show my versatility in acting at this stage of life; I’ll do what I’m already best at. I am capitalising on it!”
