Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MID-DAY; October 8, 2014)

For over three decades, the duo of Kaushal-Moses has been choreographing the action for Bollywood films like Baazigar, Khiladi, Ajnabee, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster and its sequel, Paan Singh Tomar and Holiday to name a few. What drew them to the Nikhil Dwivedi-Richa Chadha starrer, Tamanchey, is the element of realism that shone through the narrative.

“It's neither a daku drama like Paan Singh Tomar, nor a story about debauched royals set in the Northern hinterlands like the Gangster series. It's a twisted love story of two escaped convicts on the run, which we've heard has been modelled on asli gangsters and real life incidents. Bas kahani aur dialogue pasand aa gaye and we agreed to do the film,“ says Kaushal.

As is their practice, the stunts were designed in a class they run and executed on the sets. “The action is real and raw as opposed to contrived and filmi. The villain looms large in the story and you wonder how this jodi, puny in comparison, will subdue him, but they do, convincingly, in the climax too,“ he asserts.

The climax was shot over three-four days in the interiors of Gujarat and in the mills of Mulund. “We also shot in Mumbai's Khoja bungalow and on the streets of Mumbai. The live action was shot in a guerrilla fashion,“ smiles Moses.

In Gujarat they filmed in a 100-year old mansion, which looked like it would crack and crumble under pressure. “It was a risk making Nikhil scale the crumbling wall and jump down from it. We strapped him in to a safety harness, lined the bottom of the wall with cardboard boxes, and then with a prayer went for 'Action'. Fortunately, the shot went off without a hitch and no one was hurt,“ he recalls.

The locals were a part of these fight scenes and Moses admits that they needed many rehearsals before going for a take.“Our fighters have the experience and expertise to dodge the sparks from the guns but these guys were new to show business and had to be repeatedly warned to not get too close when caught in a crossfire,“ Kaushal reminisces.

Both the fight masters applaud Nikhil's enthusiasm. They recall how he had been willing to jump from the top of a mill while trying to shake off the cops who are in hot pursuit. “We told him we couldn't take the chance and had a duplicate take the 40-feet jump, then took close-ups of Nikhil on the ground,“ narrates Kaushal.
However, once, when they were not present on the sets, Richa, another daredevil, was persuaded to do a dangerous shot. “She tore a ligament and we had to let her rest her leg for a few days before resuming the shoot,“ says Moses, admitting that initially they had been worried because in the film the girl is the stronger partner-in-crime. “The ladki leads the way and the actress playing her couldn't be afraid. Fortunately, Richa bindaas ladki hai.“

During their first meeting, she told the duo that she would train with them to do whatever they had in mind for her. “Aur woh kabhi peechey nahin hati. A role like this would usually go to a seasoned actress with 8-10 films behind her but Richa, a relative newcomer, pulled it off with ease,“ Moses marvels.