Jackie Chan: My Muscles Were Rotting While Filming

The superstar underwent surgery while working on Kung Fu Yoga - and resumed filming immediately

Photos: Courtesy of Golden Village

Ask any of his colleagues and they'll tell you the same thing: Jackie Chan is a superhero. Every movie he appears in is accompanied by a story about the star sustaining injury, but gritting his teeth and resuming filming barely hours after getting patched up.

Kung Fu Yoga was no different. The movie sees Chan and a pan-Asian cast - including Bollywood actress Disha Patani, Hong Kong actor Aarif Rahman and South Korean idol Lay Zhang - venturing from Dubai to Iceland for an epic historic adventure.

Along the way, Chan was admitted into hospital for surgery. Still, production proceeded on schedule, and the movie releases in cinemas here on 26 Jan.

Weekender takes some time with Chan during his visit to Singapore to find out more about his heroic hustle.

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How did you feel about filming in a car with a real lion? Were you afraid?

Of course I was scared! [Points to Tong] He wanted me to film it – I didn’t want to!

Tong: Coaxing the lion into the car was hard enough. Coaxing Jackie was harder!

Chan: I’ve not had much luck with animals. I was bitten by a dog in CZ12, so I told Stanley there was no way I was filming that. It sounds fun when you first say it, but when you step on set and see the big beast in the cage, you lose all courage. So I sat as far away from the lion as I could. [Laughs]

What about your Bollywood dance sequence – did you have trouble with the moves?

It was tough at first. The original dance needed you to move your hands one way and your legs another way. I told them it was too difficult – if you want something that could become popular, everyone must be able to learn it, and this was too hard.

So they changed it to simpler moves: Actions like changing the lightbulb, flying a kite and moving the hips. It became much easier then. I still can’t shake my head from side to side, though!

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Kung Fu Yoga premieres in Singapore on 26 Jan.