Do not go by the looks of an unlikely MMA fighter

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru:

Looking at Debojit Dasgupta, one would not make him an MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter. But looks can be deceiving, right? And that’s what drew Joshua Quadros to make him the subject of his documentary – ‘Armature.’

“I felt he was someone ordinary trying to do something extraordinary. By jumping from grappling in Jiu- Jitsu to MMA, he was really more concerned with testing himself as a martial artist. He is testing his skills and seeing whether they hold up in a real situation against someone who wants to be violent with him,” said Joshua while speaking to News Trail.“We have a really macho idea of fighters in our heads. But he’s very soft-spoken, eloquent. Not the first image that comes to your head when you think of a fighter,” he adds.

Having known and trained with Debojit for years, Joshua saw that history was repeating itself in a completely different context when his friend decided to transition from grappling to MMA. “This was how the UFC started back in 1994 when a striker went up against a grappler. The narrative struck a chord with me and I knew there was something here,” he explained.

But how does the Indian MMA scene compare to the one in the west? “Armature MMA is very disorganized and bureaucratic. Sure, some people are there who are putting their heads together and making events happen, but no one is really thinking about fighters and their safety,” said Quadros.

And things aren’t any better in the professional scene either, where Bollywood mascots are given far more importance in the promotional material than the fighters themselves. Joshua cites Tiger Shroff being front and center in all the MFN posters as an example.

“There is a scene in the film where the tournament is taking place in a mall and the only place the fighters have to warm-up is in the parking lot where people are parking their cars in between,” notes Quadros. He said for the scene to improve, the focus needs to be on the fighters. “There needs to be more safety and regulations, and better scouting if the scene has to grow. We need to make sure that these hard-working people at least have a livelihood. I know many professional fighters who still need to have day jobs to make ends meet.”

Has he noticed any changes in Debojit since he has been following him around since 2019? “Yes, definitely. I have seen him become more aggressive. Even his passiveness in Jiu-Jitsu has been reduced. He has become more altered. I think that change happens when you face someone who wants to do serious damage to you,” said Quadros, who plans more fictional films set in Bengaluru that he knows and sees around himself in the future

Where: Lahe Lahe, Indiranagar
When: June 16, 7:30
Entry: 199