Avengers action director Oh decodes high-octane plane stunt he designed for Roshan in war
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; September 24, 2019)

While action director Paul Jennings was entrusted the responsibility of designing the face-off sequences between Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, the makers of War wanted equally impactful entry sequences for each of the action heroes. Director Siddharth Anand found the perfect man for the job in South Korean action director SeaYoung Oh, who has displayed his mastery over stunts in films like Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Snowpiercer (2013).

“When the actors are good at action, it is definitely beneficial for the film. But as an action director, I had the pressure to come up with unique sequences,” begins Oh, who visualised a set-piece that required Roshan to jump off a moving plane.

He credits the actor for attempting the stunt, the risk level of which was coded as critical. “Hrithik put aside his own safety to bring that jaw-dropping scene on the screen. I want to give a standing ovation for Hrithik’s confident performance.”

For Shroff’s entry scene, he chalked out a hand-to-hand combat scene. Claiming that it has become the longest one-shot action sequence in Bollywood, Oh showers praise on Shroff for executing it effortlessly. “When an action sequence has to be filmed in a single-shot, the actor’s inherent talent becomes a prerequisite. Tiger performs action with ease; He is the future of Bollywood’s action films.”

Oh counts War among his toughest projects owing to the sheer scale that it has been mounted on. “I remember getting disconcerted after reading the script. There were so many times when I thought, ‘how is Siddharth sir planning to do this?’ I have never shot so many pre-visualisation videos to prep for one film.”