Jason Paul's huge appetite for parkour just beat the streets in Mumbai

Jason Paul: I came to Mumbai for the first time 10 years ago; that was for work. I was staying in Juhu so I mainly stuck around that area and went to the Gateway of India once. The cool thing about Mumbai is that there are some places, like Ballard Pier, where you get these great big roads and European architecture. On the other hand, you have crowded alleys, and buildings or structures, which are not always at the proper angle. I love the city. At first look, it seems chaotic and easy to get lost in, but when you spend some time here you realise there is a system, and because of the space crunch things are quite minimalistic. Every location is like a mini-city in itself, they have a supermarket, a barber shop, a pharmacy etc. Also, there are so many animals just there on the street. Cats, dogs, we even saw ducks. And they're not scared of humans. I feel like in places like Germany or Japan, you're not all allowed to be too crazy. There are a lot of rules and regulations you have to conform to. Here, with all the craziness around, you're allowed to do what you want.

We went to their main office to talk to them, to understand how the system works and how long it takes them to train people. As a parkour athlete, I can somewhat relate to them, because in their day-to-day life they go from one point to another and overcome obstacles on the way. Parkour is also a lot about problem-solving on the go.

I came last year for a recce to see the possible locations for the shoot. The thing I found very surprising was the bamboo scaffolding. In Europe the scaffolding is made of metal and it's very uniform so it becomes kind of repetitive when you shoot tricks on it. There are things like the rickshaws that are very unique to India. I came here on April 9 [2022] for the final shoot, and spent 10-11 days in the city. As a parkour athlete, it's fun to just take everything in and think of the possibilities. It’s like once you learn to read; your brain automatically does it. So, when I go somewhere, I am always thinking about what I could do, maybe do a wall run, how do I go from here to there? The cities in Europe usually have a clear plan. In Mumbai, the city has grown more organically. So, there's a variety of things we can think of doing, obviously we need to think about how stable or sturdy it is going to be.

I did a flip over two tuk-tuks. The other one was when I jumped onto the double-decker bus. I was clinging to the side of it. We did rehearse that one.

Being a parkour athlete is like the best way of being a tourist. I get to spend a lot of time in the place, meet the people; interact with them. We got a very positive reaction everywhere. That kind of creates some fun moments in itself. There were places where I had to jump off people’s rooftops, so we had to interact with them, ask them if it was OK, be respectful and make sure we didn’t damage their stuff during filming. It gives a more intricate look into people’s lives.

I didn’t eat any of the street food. But we went to a restaurant called Maharaja Bhog, where everything comes in this big plate [a thali]. It’s full of this different kind of stuff and they just keep bringing more food, and tell you to have this and try that. It’s like being at a grandma’s place! We also went to a place for dosa. I have had Indian food in Frankfurt, but that's more European Indian.