Chetana Belagere By Express News Service BENGALURU: “If I die during this adventure, I request Kannadigas to just put a fistful of mud on my grave and remember me forever,” says Jyothi, alias Kothi Raja, self-taught rock climber known as Karnataka’s ‘Spiderman’. He is soon to climb the world’s highest, uninterrupted waterfall -- Angel Falls in Venezuela, South America. Kothi Raja told TNIE in Bengaluru that this adventure will be shot live for his upcoming movie, ‘Incredible Monkey Man’, to be produced and directed by Australia-based filmmaker Stanley Joseph. He said his initial plan was to scale the 830m (2,720-ft) Burj Khalifa in Dubai, but when he realised that a building taller than the Burj will soon be raised, he decided to choose a natural spot. After a Google search of nearly 30 days, he opted for the 979m (3,230-ft) Angel Falls. “I finalised this falls as I have always got a thrill climbing the Jog Falls,” he explained. Kothi Raja has shinned up and down the Jog Falls 11 times so far. His climbing tricks using bare hands and with no safety apparatus gave him the moniker ‘Kothi’ (monkey). Kothi Raja knew that his new adventure would cost him a great deal of money, which was when he remembered the renowned director from Sydney, Australia, who had seven years earlier promised to make a movie on him. He spoke to Stanley Joseph, who has produced award-winning feature films, including ‘Lim(b)itless’, the journey of Abdullah Karim, a powerchair football world champion. It has won the best documentary at Focus on Ability Short Film Festival in Australia. “I was super excited with his idea. I have been wanting to do a movie about his incredible life. He has been through so much in life, and yet, has made it so big. His story definitely needs to be told. I’ve made all arrangements. We are ready to go,” Stanley told TNIE over a phone call. While Stanley has discussed the entire process with a few experts in Venezuela and even worked on permission and other logistics, our monkey man is preparing himself to ensure that he makes the entire journey of climbing a success. He is being trained by international champion Praveen CM, founder of Sport Climbing India, and holds the record for being an undefeated national champion in rock-climbing for 14 consecutive years. “I am being trained by the best coach. I am a self-learnt climber. I climbed the Chitradurga fort for the first time when I was 18, and I wanted to kill myself then. Instead, I got applause from people watching me climb. Something in me told me I can set a mark in this world, and I decided to make climbing my passion,” Kothi Raja said. The climber shot to fame after he rescued hundreds of tourists who fell from the cliffs of Jog Falls, the world’s fifth highest waterfall. He also helped recover numerous bodies of those who did not survive the fall. Asked if he is not afraid of falling, he said, “I’ve had many brushes with death in Jog Falls. Once I thought I had died, after falling 400 feet, but I never gave up. I’ve so far climbed Jog Falls 11 times through different routes.” Kothi Raja will travel to Venezuela in January. While the visa process is already on, the director is also getting permission for the venture. The climb will be shot live and all safety precautions will be taken. While some have climbed the falls in three days, he intends to do it in a shorter time. “Let’s all hope for the best,” said Stanley Joseph.

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