Action scenes in Bollywood films have become more challenging but our actors prefer to do everything on their own, even though it takes lots of time and practice and might leave them injured too. Sham Kaushal, action director of Dangal and Kaabil, talks to Sangeeta Yadav about the doing the two most challenging films
A punch here and a kick there. From chasing the goons in cars to avoiding a deadly attack, action in Bollywood has come a long way. The filmmakers are experimenting and looking at ways that can make action scenes difficult and different. For this, the action director and even actors are leaving no stone unturned to ensure to make it larger than life. And Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil, where he plays visually challenged, was no child’s play. To direct action scenes for this film, action director Sham Kaushal had to study the character thoroughly.
“We study the plus points of the character who is visually challenged in this film. How they lead a normal life, their body language and how they communicate. We identify and tap their abilities like listening powers, mental abilities and then visualise and choreograph the actions. It required right timing and it was a culmination of mental strength, ideas and abilities that you see on the big screen,” Kaushal says who is at present working on Rajkumar Hirani’s Padmavati and Boney Kapoor’s Mom.
The film has three main actions — in a rundown theatre, a warehouse and an under construction high-rise — which took 10 days each to direct. “The approach to action is different. It’s not your usual dhishoom-dhishoom kind of action where everything is over-the-top and exaggerated. The idea was to create something that was relatable and would keep you on the edge of the seat and make you want to clap. For every action, we choreographed it with the stunt team at least 10 times before the actors took centrestage,” Kaushal says.
For Hrithik Roshan, doing the action came with its challenges. “It was not easy to do those actions without making any eye contact. Every step he took and every movement he made was carefully thought off and planned. Since we didn’t use a body double for Hrithik Roshan meant that these action sequences came out brilliantly and looked authentic. The audience today has become smart and can figure out if a body double has been used or not,” Kaushal tells you who shares a great rapport with Duggu since he has worked with him before in films likeKrrish series, Fiza, Guzaarish etc.
Kaushal, who was also the action director for Dangal, got to work with national wrestling coach Kripa Shankar and other real wrestlers from london, Poland and Nigeria so that the bouts looked genuine.
“We had to make the two-minute bout not only interesting but also different for all the three rounds. We had to tell a story through these bouts and capture the energy and expressions well. The endeavour has always been to make action as realistic as possible. But at the time same, actor’s safety is paramount. ForDangal, Aamir Khan was doing warm-up to shoot a scene where the father-daughter fight; he suffered a ligament pull on his shoulder and was asked to take a six-week rest. We had to pack up and go back to Mumbai from Punjab. While practising for the bout scene in Delhi’s Thyagraj Stadium, Fatima twisted her ankle and was advised six-week rest. Action scenes are always risky when actors do it themselves,” Kaushal says.