Soham Rockstar Entertainment’s Dhaakad is shot by Japanese cinematographer Tetsuo Nagata, who is based in France. The veteran cinematographer is known for his work in La Vie En Rose, Paris and Narco among others.

Talking about how the team brought Nagata to India to shoot the Kangana Ranaut-starrer, director Razneesh Ghai says, “I knew all along the film had to look a certain way. I look at cinema from a visual point of view, where the cardinal rule is ‘Show, don’t tell!’ This is the reason I needed a world-class DOP. I have been a huge fan of Tetsuo Nagata. He has beaten the best in the world to win the César Award for Best Cinematography twice. I happened to meet him at a cafe and we kept in touch ever since. When the time to shoot Dhaakad came, I reached out to him.”

Nagata makes his Bollywood debut with the movie. Ghai says, “He has made movies for Hollywood, France and Japan, but I really wanted mine to be his first Hindi film. It took me a month to convince him. He prepped with me for around four months. Whatever he has brought on screen in this film, is new for him as well. Some of the techniques he hasn’t even used in any of his other films.”

Soham Rockstar Entertainment presents Dhaakad, which is produced by Deepak Mukut and Sohel Maklai and co-produced by Hunar Mukut. The movie is produced in association with Zee Studios, Kamal Mukut, Sohel Maklai Productions and Asylum films. Dhaakad’s music is produced under the banner of SRE Music.

The film, distributed by Zee Studios Worldwide, releases on May 20.