By Ila Sankrityayan
New Delhi, Oct 18 (IANS): Bollywood star Ajay Devgn opens up on his trip to the Indian Ocean with Bear Grylls for the survival skill-based reality show 'Into The Wild'. He says it was an adventure-packed journey and entirely a different experience from what he has done in his film career. The trip also worked as a short break for him.
Ajay says: "My September break to the Indian Ocean worked for me in many ways. It was my first trip 'Into The Wild' with Bear Grylls. I've done dangerous things in films from the start of my film career 30 years ago. But what I did during the ITW trip with Bear was altogether different. It was scary, thrilling, adventurous, exhilarating and so much more. It also worked as a short personal break."
The world-famous adventurer Bear Grylls and Ajay Devgn travelled to sea full of sharks and facing harsh weather conditions, eventually moving towards uninhabited islands.
He shares his most difficult moments from the journey: "Well, there was so much nervous energy within me when I was doing my stunts with Bear, I can't recollect each moment separately. Overall, I can tell you when I was in the middle of the deep ocean and Bear was trying to come in a helicopter to rescue me and take me to an island nearby, the waters were perilous. The wind of the chopper machine and the pressure of the water in which I was immersed neck deep was very dangerous. Of course, I had full faith in Bear but I must confess, I could barely keep my head above the water."
Ajay adds that he loves forests but more challenging was the ocean: "I love the forests, so that bit was much easier. Bear knows his way around the wild, he is a natural. I just followed him, but it was the ocean that presented challenges."
During the show we often see Grylls eating unique stuff on his expeditions. And what Ajay was offered by him and the Bollywood cop replies back: "Raw fish! I must confess, it wasn't what I wished for. However, when you are in the wild, you have to survive. So, you eat what you are given."
When asked why he accepted this offer, he says being a great fan of Bear, Ajay instantly said 'yes': "I took it up because I am a huge fan of Bear Grylls. He is a master adventurer; he is a great human being and a daredevil. I wanted to spend time in nature and who better than Bear as a companion."
While opening up about his upcoming projects, he reveals: "I'm currently shooting for my home production 'May Day' that has Amitabh Bachchan and Rakul Preet Singh in the lead with me. I'm also directing this film. Besides this, I have 'Maidaan', a biopic on one of India's football legends. I'm also making my foray into OTT with 'Rudra - The Edge of Darkness', in which I play the lead. Three other projects are being finalised. And, I have three very special appearances in S.S. Rajamouli's 'RRR', Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Gangubai Kathiawadi', and Rohit Shetty's 'Sooryavanshi'.".
'Into The Wild' with Bear Grylls and Ajay Devgn will stream on October 22 on discovery+. The broadcast premiere of the show is scheduled on October 25 on 14 linear channels including Discovery Channel.