Stuntman, who dreamt of becoming a policeman, now performs for them

From lugging a 1,800-kg Tata Sumo with a rope to other stunts, he has enthralled people across the city but, like his father, the 49-year-old Basha, likes to perform for the cops, predominantly.

Stopping high velocity vehicles with his hands only, breaking coconuts with his head, jumping over 16 men at one go and rotating two cycles tied to his hair are some of the stunts Basha performs.

“As soon as I learn that a new officer has taken charge, I visit his district and perform before him. I have been doing this for the past 26 years now. While I also perform for the public at large, performing before the men in Khaki gives me the satisfaction I am looking for,” Basha told The Indian Express.

With a team of 10 members, Basha also performs for the annual cultural fest of Mumbai police, Umang. “My grandfather had this obsession of performing for the police. He passed it on to my father and my father to me. We are a family that performs for the police force. Performing for them, gives us both pleasure and satisfaction. I always wanted to be a cop. At least by performing stunts for them, I get a chance to be in their company,” Basha adds.

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Basha, who hails from the Tembhurni village of Solapur, started performing these stunts at the tender age of 12.
Basha says that one of his most memorable performances was before the 26/11 martyr Ashok Kamte. Kamte, a sports enthusiast himself, enjoyed every stunt Basha performed.

“Kamte appreciated many of the stunts performed by me. He also invited me a couple of times to perform for policemen. A sports lover, Kamte used to discuss the stunts at length and took keen interest in knowing how I performed them and what precautions I took,” Basha adds.

Basha doesn’t charge any specified sum for his shows. “Everything depends on the people and I perform happily,” he says.

His most recent show was held at D ward office, Grant Road, on Ambedkar Jayanti. His son Shahrukh Sayyad, 20, now performs with him. He recently performed before the DGP of the state too.

Other than policemen, Basha has also performed before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and on the sets of Shabaash India.

With fewer show opportunities now, Basha imparts basic gymnastics lessons to his younger children so they can join the police in future.