Stunt master Jolly Bastian, known for ‘Angamaly Diaries’, passes away at 53

Alappuzha: Veteran stunt master Jolly Bastian (53), who worked in more than 900 Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam films, passed away following a massive heart attack on Tuesday night. 

Born in Alleppey, Kerala, Jolly Bastian was brought up in Bengaluru. Originally a bike mechanic, Jolly Bastian went on to become a top stunt master. He made his debut as a director with the movie 'Ninagaagi Kaadiruve' in 2009. 

While performing a stunt on a bike, Jolly Bastian was spotted by renowned filmmaker and hero V. Ravichandran, and he started working as his stunt double. He had worked in most of Ravichandran’s movies as a stunt master. 

Jolly Bastian directed stunts for KGF fame superstar Yash’s ‘Masterpiece’, a Kannada movie. Jolly Bastian also contributed to Kannada star and director Duniya Vijay’s yet-to-be-released film ‘Bheema’.

‘Kannur Squad’, ‘Angamaly Diaries’, ‘Kammattipadam’, and ‘Ayalum Njanum Thammil’ are some of the Malayalam films he worked for.

The bigwigs of the southern film industry, especially from the Kannada film industry where he began his career, expressed shock and paid condolences. 

He died while he was in Alappuzha for Christmas. The mortal remains have been sent to Bengaluru. The funeral will happen there.

With IANS inputs