When Vidyut Jammwal says that his heart and soul lie in Calcutta, he really means it. That’s because the Bollywood action star has spent quite a few of his growing-up years in the city, and so his attachment to Calcutta runs far deeper than the cliched love for rosogolla and mishti doi.

Last week, Vidyut was in Calcutta to promote his latest film IB71, an espionage thriller based on real events, but that was perhaps incidental. Nothing makes the man — who gives the idea of fitness, honesty and straight talk a fresh spin every time — happier than touching down in the city which he describes as “indisputably one of his favourites”. What made Vidyut, 42, happier was an opportunity to visit Kalighat, and The Telegraph was all too glad to accompany him when he asked us to go along.

A fulfilling darshan later, we walked out to huge crowds chanting “Commando, Commando!” — the name of Vidyut’s superhit action franchise, which is now three films old — with a sea of hands reaching out to touch the actor. For a lucky few who managed to get close despite the security ring around Vidyut, the actor made sure he obliged most of them, putting his hand out to the others for a handshake or a high-five.By the time Vidyut — cool in summer pastel casuals — got to his car, one could only see endless rows of bobbing heads jostling for space and waiting to get close to their favourite star.

Vidyut made sure that he didn’t send a single fan home unhappy — from clicking groupfies perched on the side of his car to engaging in a chat with those in the immediate vicinity to distributing T-shirts saying, ‘I train like Vidyut Jammwal’. “This is what I work for, this is my reward... the love of so many people,” Vidyut later told t2 as we got a ringside view of the man’s crazy fandom. And then, as we took a drive around the city, we had to talk all things Kolkata!

What are your best memories of growing up in Kolkata?

My father (who was in the Army) was posted here twice and we lived in Fort William at Turf View. I went to school at KV (Kendriya Vidyalaya) Fort William, my sister studied at Loreto and my brother at St Xavier’s College. Apart from Rishikesh, Kolkata is my favourite city.

I would go to College Street. There were some favourite haunts... like there was this lane somewhere behind Park Street and I would buy jeans there for 60 bucks! (Laughs) There was Fancy Market in Kidderpore that we loved going to. Dude, the best shoes, the best watches... we would get that there. Kolkata is a place I want to come to any time… I just love the city, there’s nothing that I don’t love about Kolkata.

I was born in Kanpur and then we came to Kolkata and stayed here for three years. After that, we moved to Pithoragarh (in Uttarakhand) and then Punjab. So basically, I have been all over....

For people who come to the city only for a day or two, it’s really difficult to convince them what the city is all about and how much I love it. Today, I have brought a photographer friend from England with me here and I have asked him to shoot Calcutta from his perspective. The way he looks at India is not how we, who have lived here all our lives, look at it. I am really keen to see how he shoots the city.

You have told me in the past how you have wanted to come to Kolkata for the promotions of almost all your films but it mostly hadn’t happened....

Until now! That’s why I am so happy today. I believe there is something that has pulled me to this city this time, and it’s not just the promotions of IB71. The last time I was here was during Durga Puja, with the unit of one of my films. The crew left and I decided to stay on for one more night. I loved it... it was like a carnival. That was the time I also stepped out early in the morning and went to see New Market. I wanted to see how it had changed. (A little later, crossing AC Market had Vidyut all excited. “It’s remained the same! When no one knew about malls in India, we had AC Market here...”).

I love the New Market lane next to Oberoi (Grand). And, of course, the kathi rolls on Park Street.

I believe you have a special affinity for the eastern part of the country....

I love the North-east. Two years ago, my hairstylist and I went all over the North-east incognito and I loved it. It was one of the best trips ever! As a kid, I would visit Shillong because my mama (uncle), who was in the Army, was posted there. My earliest memories of Shillong are of me thinking that the bedsheets we were sleeping on were wet because it was so cold!

Can you walk around any part of the country incognito?

It’s difficult. I have tried walking around with a mask but I think my structure and the way I walk gives it away. I don’t get much time to spend with my dog, whose name is Salvador Dali (smiles). One day, I decided to take him for a walk to the beach near my place. I had a full-sleeved T-shirt on and shorts, with a cap and a mask. And while Dali and I were walking by, these groups of boys started shouting: ‘Aye Commando! Chhup kyun raha hain?!’

“I was waiting for this call of the Divine,” Vidyut told t2 after his Kalighat temple darshan

“You are doing a very good job here. More power to you,” Vidyut told this smiling fan who was regulating the crowd

Fans lined up for handshakes and high-fives

Vidyut with fans at Kalighat

With a visit to Kalighat on the itinerary for you today, would you say you are more religious or spiritual?

I have been through all the phases. I was raised in an ashram (in Kerala), so I have had religion being a major part of my life. Vedic studies are a part of my repertoire of life. Right now, I am in the kind of phase where I believe in everything. My experiences in life have made me more aware and accepting. Honestly, I feel being spiritual limits me and I also feel that it’s a term which is often used loosely and in a wrong context.

Can you speak any Bangla?

I could actually speak about 11 Indian languages. A few days ago, I was talking to someone that if you don’t speak a language for five years, you will blank out. Malayalam is my first language, but now I feel that I am lying to people if I tell them I have lived in Kerala because I can’t speak it at all anymore! I could speak Bengali when I was in Kolkata, it was a part of my daily vocabulary here, but now I can’t speak a word. When I worked with Rukmini Maitra (for his 2021 film Sanak), she made me speak some(smiles). Bengali is definitely the most mellifluous language.

Food is an integral part of Kolkata. Any favourites?

I am not a foodie at all, I have never been. But what I really, really love is jhalmuri. (Vidyut did help himself to some jhalmuri on this trip.) I like making it too, but with a lot more mustard oil than usual.

Speaking of food and hospitality, my sister’s first job, in 1991, was at Taj Bengal. I remember Sanjay Dutt had come to promote Khalnayak and stayed there and I was so thrilled to see him!

The first five-star hotel I stayed in as a four-year-old was The Oberoi Grand and that was the first time I had seen a phone in the bathroom! (Laughs) I went and stayed at the hotel when I became an actor and they had this huge cake for me that said, ‘Mr Vidyut Jammwal, we are honoured to have you here’. That cake did it for me… it felt like an achievement… the first hotel I ever stay in tells me years later it’s an honour to have me there. I went back and told my mom about it. This kind of happiness can’t be compared to money or fame.