From a school karate class to directing action for Rajinikanth, the Kannadiga has carved a niche for himself across seven film industries. When Jailer 2 hits theatres on October 15, its action sequences will carry a single-card credit for Chethan D’Souza, a former software engineer from near Udupi who has emerged as a sought-after action director in Indian cinema.
The founder of CF Action Design and co-founder of Bengaluru-based stunt training centre Chaos Faktory, Chethan have worked on films across seven industries, including Aavesham, Kingdom and Sardar 2. His upcoming projects include Dragon, starring Jr NTR, Fauzi, featuring Prabhas, and Scene, starring Suriya.
From karate to cinema – Chethan’s journey began in sixth standard when he saw children practicing karate in Udupi while shopping with his mother. Unable to access classes near his home, he joined his school’s karate program in eighth standard and eventually earned a black belt. He later competed at state, national and international levels, becoming a two-time state-level grand champion.
While pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree at MGM College, Udupi, he began teaching karate in his native Moodubelle, with his younger brothers among his first students. Over the years, he expanded his skills to include gymnastics, calisthenics and specialized weapon systems.
A leap of faith – After moving to Bengaluru in 2007 to work as a software developer at Accenture, Chethan continued training on weekends. He spent nearly a year combining martial arts, parkour and gymnastics into a short film titled Wrong Move, which attracted close to one million views on YouTube.
With no industry connections, he sent the film to director Pawan Kumar through Facebook. The response led to a meeting and, eventually, an opportunity to choreograph the fight sequences in U Turn.
Chethan credits the late Puneeth Rajkumar with helping him obtain his stunt union card and establish himself as a stunt director in Kannada cinema. He subsequently worked with leading actors, including Shiva Rajkumar, Sudeep, Upendra, Sriimurali and Raj B. Shetty. After 12 years in corporate life, he left his software career to pursue action direction full-time.
The Aavesham breakthrough – A turning point came with the 2024 Malayalam blockbuster Aavesham. Introduced to Fahadh Faasil while working on Dhoomam, Chethan was subsequently connected with director Jithu Madhavan. His work on Aavesham brought him wider recognition and caught the attention of the Jailer 2 team.
Director Nelson Dilipkumar’s team first approached him to design the action for the film’s announcement teaser in January 2025 before bringing him on board for the full film.
“Working with a legend is a different ball game,” Chethan says of working on a Rajinikanth film. “I used to think only about realistic, martial arts-based fights. I had to adapt to the story, the character and the scale of the film.”
He describes his evolution from fight choreographer to action director as a shift towards thinking like a second director, using action to express emotion, develop characters and move the story forward.
Action with an emphasis on safety – Through CF Action Design, Chethan and his team plan and test sequences before filming. The company has its own stunt visualisation studio for previsualisation and 3D animatics, and also works in motion capture for films, animation and games. On set, a dedicated rigging and safety crew supports the execution of complex stunts.
Chethan has trained actors including Fahadh Faasil, Karthi, Vijay Deverakonda, Sriimurali and Yuva Rajkumar. Along with his brother, he also established Chaos Factory in Bangalore to train actors and stunt performers.
What lies ahead – Chethan’s upcoming slate includes Jailer 2, Dragon, Fauzi and Scene. His recent work also includes Kingdom, Sardar 2 and the Malayalam film Khalifa, with shoots taking him to Sri Lanka, Jordan and Dubai.
From teaching karate in Moodubelle to designing action for some of Indian cinema’s biggest stars, Chethan D’Souza’s journey reflects years of persistence, experimentation and a willingness to take risks.
About Chethan D’Souza – Chethan D’Souza is a Bengaluru-based action director, fight choreographer and motion capture director with more than 22 years of experience in martial arts and movement arts. He is the founder of CF Action Design, co-founder of Chaos Faktory and an All India Stunt Union master card holder. He has more than 68 stunt credits on IMDb across seven film industries.
