Upala KBR (MID-DAY; February 17, 2018)

Having completed the shoot of a romantic number for Race 3 in Bangkok, Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez will now switch gears to action mode. mid-day has it that director Remo D’Souza has allotted the next 10 days for the shoot of a high-octane chase sequence that forms the climax of the thriller. While action is home turf for the superstar, Fernandez has been specially training for it over the past four months.

“The past week saw us filming at the Floating Market and Rose Garden in Bangkok. Next week, we will shift to the jungles of Kanchanaburi province to can the action sequence, which sees Salman and Jacqueline running through the dense shrubs as they are chased by the villains,” says a source from the Ramesh Taurani production.

Choreographed by action director Anal Arasu, the stunts will involve kickboxing and hand-to-hand combat. Considering Khan had shot for Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) prior to this, his expertise in action was not a concern, unlike Fernandez, who is relatively new to the genre.

Aware that a film like Race 3 would demand higher endurance level and more agility, Fernandez began working out under fitness trainer Namrata Purohit’s guidance as soon as she signed the project. Besides training in Mixed Martial Arts which includes Jiu Jitsu, boxing, kickboxing and Thai boxing, she also took up Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) sessions. Reveals a source close to the actor, “EMS sessions help maximise your muscular effort by engaging a greater percentage of muscle fibres. That’s how Jackie is at her fittest today.”

Confirming the story, DSouza said, “We are shooting an extensive action sequence in the virgin jungles of Thailand.”