Discovery Network gears up for ‘Bharat Ke Naye Mahayoddha ki Khoj’ with its upcoming non-fiction offering, ‘India’s Ultimate Warrior’ featuring Vidyut Jammwal as the host; Akshay Kumar to join as a special guest
- Hosted by Vidyut Jammwal, India’s Ultimate Warrior premieres on 4th March on discovery+ followed by 14th March on Discovery Channel; Akshay Kumar’s special episode to premiere on 14th March on discovery+ and on 16th March on Discovery Channel
- 16 contenders across diverse backgrounds and professional capabilities like Athlete, Police, Martial Artist, Swimmer, Wrestling, Boxing, Marketing and many more to be pitted against each other in this 6-part series to emerge as India’s Ultimate Warrior
- The contestants will be mentored by veterans of combat disciplines, Shifu Kanishka Sharma, Bi ‘Killerbee’ Nyugen, Shaun Kober and Mykel Hawke, who have been mastering forms like including Muay Thai, Boxing, Weaponry, Aikido, Judo, Shaolin Kung Fu amongst others for decades
Mumbai, 4th March 2022 (GNI): Focus, Control, Determination, Balance, Discipline – these characteristics are what truly define a warrior! As a nation, India owes its rich heritage to the might of numerous selfless warriors who fought for the honour of this country. In an ode to the real yoddhas andthe ancient tradition of Indian combat forms, Discovery Network is all set to bring a one-of-its-kind reality show, India’s Ultimate Warrior, premiering on discovery+ on March 04 at 6 AM, while the broadcast premiere of the show is scheduled for 8:00 PM on March 14 across 12 Discovery channels including Discovery Channel, Discovery HD, Discovery Tamil, Animal Planet, Animal Planet HD, TLC, TLC HD, Discovery ID, Discovery ID HD, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, and Eurosport.
Hosted by one of India’s primal action superstars and top martial artists, Vidyut Jammwal, who debuts as a Dojo master, the show will also have the OG Khiladi Akshay Kumar as honorary Dojo Master in the third special episode premiering on 14th March on discovery+ and 16th March on Discovery Channel.
In a bid to give India its next ‘Mahayoddha’, the series produced by Base Films will have Dojo master, Vidyut command a ‘fight camp’ along with mentors namely – Shifu Kanishka, whose love for martial arts made him craft his own style Shifu Kanishka Combatives, Shaun Kober, a former Rugby player who served the Australian army, Bi Nguyen AKA Killer Bee, an expert in Muay Thai, one of the hardest martial arts in the world and Mykel Hawke, a Former U.S. Army Special Forces officer. Each mentor would guide and train 4 students, as they perform the most daunting challenges and sought-after tasks to emerge as the ultimate winner.
From a police officer to a boxer, an archaeologist, a corporate professional, a taekwondo athlete, and a wrestler – India’s Ultimate Warrior will have contenders across walks of life go through a series of well-crafted challenges and gruelling training. Over 6 episodes, these multi-talented and skilled contenders would be pushed to their absolute limits through unique tasks like Knife fighting, Kushti wrestling, Epic Sumo Clash, Aki Kiti Kick fighting, rope climb fighting, water gauntlet amongst many others. Not only will they be tested physically on their strength, speed, stamina or fighting skills, but also on the mastery of mental warrior qualities i.e., strategic intelligence, honour, grit, and the ability to adapt.
On being the Dojo master for the show, Vidyut Jammwal said, “It was enriching for me to play the host as the Dojo master especially because I have lived this subject. To put the students through a certain set of obstacles which needed mental strength to be able to perform the physical feats was the idea behind the show when I first began training. With a one-of-a-kind concept, combined with well-researched, expansive challenges, ranging from Kalaripayattu, to Krav Maga, the show promises a unique visual offering unseen and unheard before in the reality genre in India.”
“I was 9 when I started practicing Martial Arts and I owe everything I am today to this art form. When discovery+ reached out to me to be a part of India’s Ultimate Warrior revolving around combat disciplines as a guest, I was instantly intrigued by the same. India’s Ultimate Warrior is a standout in the reality genre for its intent and authenticity and I am sure, the series shall open to positive audience reactions.” said, Akshay Kumar on being a part of the show as a special guest.”
Talking about the launch of the show, Megha Tata, Managing Director- South Asia, Discovery Inc. said, “Our primary aim with this series is to disrupt the category of reality content in India and offer an authentic show that throws light on the true virtues of a warrior, that has been ingrained in the Indian psyche for ages. Through its unique format and scale of production, India’s Ultimate Warrior’ shall emerge as a clutter breaker and help us set a benchmark in the reality genre. We hope that by harnessing the power of martial arts maverick Vidyut Jammwal and with the dynamic presence of the biggest action superstar Akshay Kumar, the show will offer unparalleled entertainment and a differentiated viewing experience to our audience”.
India’s Ultimate Warrior attracted premium advertisers on-board. Policybazaar.com and Thums Up are co-powered by Sponsors while Spotify is the Partnered Sponsor for the show.
Profiles of India’s Ultimate Warrior Mentors:
- SHIFU KANISHKA (43) – Bollywood’s action choreographer Shifu Kanishka’s love for martial arts began when he was seven years old, but little did he know that it would turn into a passion thereafter. He spent 32 years of his life training in various martial arts and created his own system called Shifu Kanishka Combatives. He is the first and the only Indian to have gained the title of “Shifu” from the famous Shaolin Temple China and the first Indian to introduce the Kali Tactical Combat System to the Law Enforcement Military and Special Forces. He is also the first Indian to bring the deadly combat system of Pekiti Tirisa Kali to the country.
- SHAUN KOBER (35)- Australian native Shaun is a Rugby player, who has represented his country in a defence-force world cup and has captained two states of Australia in national and international rugby competitions. He enlisted in the Australian Army at the age of 20 and survived three deployments in Iraq, East Timor, and Afghanistan. Most recently he has relocated to a combat-based training camp in Thailand where he is actively coaching fighters
- BI NGUYEN; A.K.A KILLER BEE (31)– Killer Bee based out of Texas USA is known to have been trained in Muay Thai, one of the hardest martial arts, a form of kickboxing using fists, elbows, knees, and shins. In 2012, she took her first self-defence class and began to regain control of her life after being in a long abusive relationship. She also coaches at heavyweight champ Lou Savarese’s gym
- MYKEL HAWKE (55) – Hawke is a Former U.S. Army Special Forces officer, author, and television presenter. He has been awarded black belts in Aikido and Judo and has served on active duty for a total of 12 years and in the Reserves and Guard for another 12 years. He is a combat veteran as an enlisted soldier who has fought rebels and trained UN peacekeepers in war-torn Africa and did combat search and rescue missions during the drug war in Colombia
Contenders:
- ABHISHEK MISHRA– An Indian Ultraman & 4 times Ironman Triathlete, Abhishek is an established Motivational Speaker, who has worked closely with corporates like TCS, Deloitte, HDFC BANK, IndusInd Bank, etc. He has also published his book ‘RUN TO REALISE’ in 2018 which talks about his experiences through participation at various events all over the world
- DEEPAK DATTATRAYA MALI– Deepak has been trained in various martial art forms and specializes in weapon combats like Bo-Staff (Traditional and Extreme), Nan-chucks, Swords and Guns. He also holds 1st degree Black Belt in Taekwondo Martial Arts of Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters). In his years of practice, he has created team MYOW, been a part of Mumbai Parkour and the Movement Academy along with a long and illustrious stunt career in Indian Film Industry
- DEEPAK SHARMA– Deepak Sharma is a Police Officer, currently working as an Assistant Superintendent of Police at Tihar Jail. He has been into fitness since 2014, which he has taken up diligently to break the Police Stereotype in India. He was awarded the Swabhimaan Khel Ratna award in 2019 by the Delhi Technical University in affiliation with the Government of India. Being extremely prominent in the media and his line of work, Deepak is an aspiring actor and a model as well but considers his service to the nation as his utmost priority
- DEEPAK RAO– Deepak is the President of Strongman Games India Association, Asia President of World Deadlift Council, Owner of Professional Strongman Academy, and a gym. He takes a lot of pride in stating that he re-started strongman games in India. His achievements include but are not limited to; Strongman of India (2015-2018), Strongman of Asia (2017, India), World’s Strongest Man 8th place (2018, Finland), World’s Strongest Man 4th rank (2018, India), World Powerlifting Union 2017 (Gold in 90kg category) and World Powerlifting Union 2017 (Deadlift record holder)
- DINESH SHETTY– Dinesh Shetty is a serial entrepreneur – a boxer, also owns a Horse Stable and runs an NGO. His fitness journey started 10 years ago, when he weighed 100kgs while he was working with Big 92.7 FM. Dinesh’s exercise regime consists of Boxing, CrossFit (Trained at Tiger Muay Thai), Weight Training & Horse Riding.
- HALEEMA SAADIYA ISMAIL MOMIN– Haleema practices like Taekwondo & Hapkido as well as Calisthenics, Weight Training and Bike stunt riding. She is a 3-times Hapkido National Gold Medalist and has a silver medal in Amateur Powerlifting. She will be representing India in an International MMA championship in Kazakhstan this October
- LEKHA JAMBAULIKAR– Lekha is a Marketing Manager and is currently pursuing a nutrition course. She is an influencer with 25K followers on Instagram and has a hype gang, wherein people hype each other and motivate each other to workout. Her mantra is– “don’t let your weakness suppress you and your strength”. Between 2016-17 she entered for her first district level boxing match and has been a state level boxer for 2 years
- MUNTAZIR AHMAD– Hailing from Kashmir, Muntazir is a Software Engineer by Profession and specializes in MMA, Black Belt 2nd Dan in Karate and Wrestling. He started his martial arts journey in 2012 from Panipat with Wrestling and has played in local Dangals. He has multiple accolades to his credit in the field of Karate and MMA. He credits his endurance as his greatest physical strength and calls himself ‘Master Muntazir – Mastery begins with humility
- PEARL MONTEIRO– She was the first female to represent India in a Calisthenics competition in Russia and came 2nd. Pearl has always loved endurance-based workouts and a friend of hers introduced her to Calisthenics. To make ends meet she has even worked in BPOs but was not happy about that. She wishes to be a part of the show to gain recognition and share her story for the first time
- POOJA YADAV– A professional Indian Taekwondo athlete, Pooja has aced the local and zonal tournaments despite no family background in sports. Winning a silver at a national meet encouraged her to make Taekwondo her professional career resulting in a string of medals at Junior & Senior National Championships. She also played Basketball and Handball at national level and is into Boxing, Karate & Basic Judo. Pooja has been conferred with the highest woman empowerment award by her state which is the Tilo Routeli Award.
- PRAKRAM DANDONA– Indian native Dandona dedicated his life to fitness five years ago and began to train just before MMA became popular in India. His first official fight was with MFN (Matrix Fight Night) owned by Tiger Shroff and his sister Krishna Shroff in 2019. He used the funds provided by fighting to open his own gym where he trains students in his Fight Club
- ROHIT CHOUDHARY– Rohit Choudhary is a Professional Boxer and a Trainer for various online fitness apps including Curefit & HealthifyMe. Vijender Singh’s win at the Olympics in 2008 inspired him to start boxing. His whole day alternates between his pro-boxing training & him training others. He has a very high threshold for pain and in the field of boxing, he has earned medals at state and nationals at amateur level. After he went professional, he holds a record of 1-0-1
- ROUNAK GULIA– Rounak is a National Level Wrestler, and was introduced to wrestling during her college days. Her achievements include: Wrestling Senior National – 2 Bronze (2019-2021), Wrestling U23 National – 1 Silver (2019), Wrestling State Champion – 6 Gold (2017-2021), Bharati Kesari title winner (2018) and she tried out for the Tokyo Olympics. She dreams to get an Olympic Gold for India and she is currently preparing for the World Wrestling Championship
- SANDEEP CHAUHAN– An International Taekwondo athlete & Assistant coach for the Indian Team, Sandeep has represented India and won in numerous tournaments. Some of his achievements are: National Medallist in Taekwondo, Represented India in President Cup, Australia Open, El Hassan Cup, Asian Open Championship and first coach to clear Level 2 in India for Taekwondo
- SUCHIKA TARIYAL– Suchika Tariyal is a two-time gold medallist in Judo. Her first ever Gold win was at the South Asian Games December in 2019 & again at Commonwealth Judo Championship Sep ’19 in the UK. Besides Judo & working out, she loves to ride bikes. She wished to be a part of the show and create awareness about Judo
- YOGESH KSHATRIYA– Yogesh has been interested in and influenced by Chinese martial art movies since childhood. He also tried Karate Classes and Martial Art Classes but didn’t work out well for him. In 2011, Yogesh joined Shaolin Warrior Monks learning Traditional Shaolin Kung Fu and stayed for more than 10 months, ultimately adopting this practice for life. Currently, he is working as a Kung Fu coach in India
Gear up for a never-seen-before action extravaganza, with India’s Ultimate Warrior, premiering 4th March odiscovery+ followed by its television premiere on 14th March on Discovery Channel.ends
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