Director Sujeeth talks about the thrilling aspects of putting together the Prabhas-Shraddha Kapoor starrer that opens this Friday
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; August 28, 2019)

Anyone who has seen the trailer and songs of Saaho, starring Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor, would know that the trilingual film is high on slick action scenes, filmed both in India and abroad. What not many would know is that every set of stunt sequences was shot by a different team of action choreographers. A heady mix of top-notch international names were brought on board to ensure that the film offers an edge-of-the-seat experience to the cinegoers.

Given that Saaho took two years in the making, it would be interesting to learn what went into crafting its action sequences. Director Sujeeth told BT, “We had hired four different concepts and each one took us hours of creative discussion with the action directors and the direction team. We chose one form of action for every sequence, which required a lot of prep, actortraining and rehearsals.”

When asked why the team chose to have different stunt teams and directors, escalating the budget of the film, Sujeeth replied, “The script demanded different kinds of action sequences for different episodes. For example, Kenny Bates was approached, as he is a tried-and-tested name in action involving cars, bikes and chase sequences. When it comes to gunfights, we preferred Bob Brown. Likewise, when the scene required Prabhas to be involved in a fistfight, we had to hire Peng Zhang, as he is good in Chinese martial arts. Moreover, we wanted to add a comic flavour to the fight and Peng Zhang was the right choice as he usually collaborates with Jackie Chan. Considering that we also like masala action, we roped in Dhilip Subbarayan, Ram Lakshman and Stunt Silva to add the required desi touch.”

For a crucial action scene in the film, the stunt team locked down a highway in Abu Dhabi for a few days. The sequence is believed to be one of the highlights of the action-thriller. Elaborating on it, Sujeeth said, “This particular chase sequence, which the audience had a glimpse of in the trailer, comes in the pre-climax part of the movie and is an integral part of the narrative. So, the whole team was of the opinion that it should be a high-octane one. We used 70 specially designed cars and three huge custom-made trailer trucks. The bike used by Prabhas was also specially designed and imported from the US — it has safety gear and upgraded horsepower as a special requirement given to us by Kenny Bates. To shoot such an enormous sequence, we required a huge stretch of the road, and we zeroed in on a couple of roads in Abu Dhabi to get the whole act right. The government of Abu Dhabi supported us by cordoning off the road for our shoot.”


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We did more than 100 set-ups-Sabu Cyril

While Saaho thrives on action scenes, it also employs a great deal of set-designing, which is another highlight of the film. For instance, the villain’s den shown reflects a crooked, evil mind. Talking about it, production designer Sabu Cyril told BT, “The villain is very dark and eerie. So, we wanted to go with a colour palette that would compliment that. The idea was to define the space, and yet defy it with odd sculptures, murals and furniture. Since we did more than 100 set-ups, it was important for us to define the characters. We had a particular colour and material pallet for each character. Apart from that, the entire film had an overall colour and material palette. The war set that we see at the end of the teaser, with Prabhas and a bunch of people running towards him, was another challenging set. It was an outdoor one on five acres of land. With the help of VFX, we were able to achieve the scale needed for that place.”

He added, “Apart from building so many sets, we also made a lot of special properties. The two black trucks were built entirely by our workers in Abu Dhabi, over 14 days. We also modified an industrial crane into an army tank in just 10 days. Prosthetics was another enjoyable aspect — we made silicone masks for body doubles and silicone arms for some of the action sequences.

When asked how the team had maintained the sets over a period of two years while the film was being shot at different locations, assistant production designer Sowmya Chakravarthula said, “We would have meetings with the director and the DOP, who would explain the scenario and the mood of the scene. We would then execute it over 15-20 days, depending on the complexity of the sequence. However, each set was required only for a few days, we would dismantle things immediately after the sequence was shot and finalised.”

Presented by Gulshan Kumar’s T-Series and Bhushan Kumar, a UV Creations production, Saaho is produced by Vamsi and Pramod. The film releases on August 30.

Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 23, 2019)

Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor’s Saaho was shot in Austria, Abu Dhabi, Italy and India. But to showcase the multiple action sequences for this futuristic, action-packed thriller, and to give the film its USP, National Award-winning art director Sabu Cyril and assistant production designer Sowmya Chakravarthula (both on the right) built a model city. It was named Wazi and enhanced with special effects.

The brief from director Sujeeth was something “larger-than-life yet real” which the reel-life baddies, Jackie Shroff, Mahesh Manjrekar, Chunky Pandey and Neil Nitin Mukesh, inhabited. More than 100 sets were built over a year, as the city came to life at Ramoji Rao Film City in Hyderabad with the design team working 12 to 15 hours a day. Since the idea was to come up with a city the likes of which no one has seen before, the duo couldn’t source anything from the market. Some outdoor shots were taken in Abu Dhabi and the challenge here too was to make the city look different. The art department was the biggest team with 50-60 people working on the Bhushan Kumar, Pramod Uppalapati and Vamsi Krishna Reddy production. Now, Sabu and Sowmya give us a tour of Wazi:


City of gold

The gold dome establishes the concept of a badass city where all the powerful people congregate to close deals. The model dome, magnified by VFX, reflects the director and art team’s vision.


Custom-designed trucks of destruction

We had a series of meetings with action director Kenny Bates who explained how the truck is used in a particular scene to knock over cars on a street. Working with sketches of the concept design and a 3D model, around 30 people custom-designed a truck in Abu Dhabi within a fortnight. The bumper was a combo of 12 mm steel and clay while the body was made of fiber and painted black. What you see on screen in the live-action scene is a strong truck bumping into the cars on the street.


3D guns and bombs from e-waste

Prabhas and Shraddha, who play cops, used real guns sourced from Mumbai, with other weaponery that came out of an art shop, including a gun which was designed using the 3D printing technique. Smoke bombs and grenades were made from e-waste, plastic, glass, fiber, paper and cardboard, among other things. The art department was always the biggest team in Saaho with at least 50 to 60 people working on it every day.


Boardroom for the bad men

This is where the big gangsters meet. The personality of the actors, including Jackie Shroff, and a certain set of colours and tone were kept in mind.

…and cars and bikes

The cars you see on screen have their interiors and exteriors modified using techno gadgets. Likewise, the bike (pictured), which is in shades of black and red with red-blue lights. The vehicles also have stickers.

Prabhas' trainer of seven years on transforming the actor from the beefy Baahubali to the running and sprinting leading man in Saaho
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; August 21, 2019)

Citing the limited time he had to slip into an exercise routine in the midst of filming, Avengers actor Chris Evans had spoken about bulking up to play the part of Captain America. The actor had stated that his team would focus on making him look as big as possible ahead of the shooting schedule so that even as his muscle mass depleted over the leg, he would still look sufficiently beefed up throughout the film. On home turf, trainers of our Baahubali, aka Prabhas, encountered no such dilemma. Come what may, Prabhas, we're told, would never miss his training session.

"For Prabhas, fitness training is a stress-buster. It is something he genuinely enjoys. So, even if he'd wrap up filming at 12 at night, and regardless of how intense his action sequences of the day were, we would still train later," says Laxman Reddy, who has been working with Prabhas for seven years. Filming abroad where the unit could not have access to a physical fitness set-up, was no hindrance. "We'd carry dumbbells, weights and resistance bands. If we didn't find a gym, we'd train in rooms. With a pair of dumbbells, you can pull off a large number of variations. Without accessories, we would execute about 100 free squats and walking lunges over hour-long training sessions."


Physical Endurance
Jumping from crafting a body for the period franchise to doing so for the upcoming actioner, Saaho, couldn't be a mean feat for the actor. If one needed him to look larger than life, the other demanded that he appear lean and agile as he pulled off high-octane stunts. Reddy admits that given the physical transformations demanded of him, it is only fortunate that the actor has a 19-year history in athletics. "He is the best coach for his body because he has studied himself. Even though he may have started body-building only for Baahubali, he has been exercising for several years and well informed about fitness."

Despite shaving off 10 kilos for Saaho following the franchise, Prabhas, Reddy reveals, had been training for the same number of hours across both films. "For Baahubali, we took to old-school methods, targeting one body part, like chest, arms or legs, each day. Weights would be heavy to enable us to create that bulk. There was a point when he was lifting as much as body builders do." Reddy put him on a seven meal plan, comprising both, high proportions of carbohydrates and protein, to up his calorie intake. "He had generous portions of rice, bread, egg whites and chicken, and a lot of fats like nuts, as well."

Full Focus
Unlike many men in the show business, the South actor ensures his physical training is suited to enhance his lifestyle instead of merely furthering the demands of life before the camera. "He is among the few who will focus on training his lower body, just as much as he does his upper body. That is rare. People don't train the lower body because doing so is hard. But he enjoys the pain. He lifts extremely heavyweights when executing squats and lunges, or training his calf muscles. When in the gym, Prabhas is never distracted."

Two-hour training sessions were split into an hour-long session of cardiovascular activity, and another hour of medium intensity resistance training work. "Since he had to lose 10 kilos for Saaho, the hour-long cardio sessions would be either swimming, cycling or playing volleyball. Prabhas loves to play the sport, and it's only a coincidence that I am also a national-level volleyball player. So, we play together."

Meals were restricted to four portions a day and the diet chart would be arrived at after Prabhas and Reddy sat together to discuss what he'd like to consume. "There are certain things that work for him that may not for others. For instance, white rice is better suited for him than brown rice; as is mutton when compared to chicken. Prabhas is a foodie, but when it comes to his films, he is very dedicated." Action sequences for Saaho demand that Reddy up the mobility component in Prabhas's routine. The trainer says that coupled with the attention he pays to building strong legs, he is anatomically blessed with good muscle flexibility. "Despite being tall, at six feet two inches, he still has a good range of motion, which helps him perform the kicks as needed."


Kenny Bates On Designing The Stunts
During mid-2016, while working on 2.0 in Chennai, the team of Saaho met me. I heard about the challenging action sequence that Sujeeth [wanted to design]. I was absorbed by the scale of action that he proposed to tackle in the time that we had on hand. He wanted to make a sequence that was bigger than anything ever attempted in India. The Indian crew's relentless dedication inspired me. Our team has been referred to as a mobile Hollywood; bringing together A-list stunt performers from all parts of the world to work on films, regardless of the location. Prabhas is very athletic and trains regularly. He is on a strict diet. He did all his stunts if we allowed him to do so. A few of them were far too dangerous to risk such a talent to try. We spent time developing action beats that fit his character. We tested and trained, as Prabhas and Sujeeth kept aspiring for [more]. If I do not stay on top of my game, there is a line of people waiting to take my spot. I earned this sequence. The work is too dangerous to be taken lightly.

Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; August 18, 2019)

Every action entertainer is looking to up the level of stunts in the film, to make it look visually spectacular. The latest is that the makers of Saaho, which is an action-thriller, roped in five stunt designers for the high-octane sequences involving Prabhas, who returns to the screen two years after Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.

A source close to the makers says, “We had internally discussed and decided to have multiple stunt directors for different sequences in the film to avoid repetition and have a completely different experience in each of the scenes. There is a chase sequence, hand-to-hand combat, an indoor fight, and a full-blown war kind of encounter. Each one of them has been separately choreographed by world-renowned action directors who have worked on Hollywood movies.”

There is Kenny Bates, who has worked on films such as Die Hard and Transformers, Peng Zhang is known for movies like Rush Hour, Bob Brown who has choreographed stunts for Se7en, Iron Man and xXx: Return of Xander Cage among others, Indian action director Dhilip Subbarayan and Stunt Silva, who have been associated with South cinema.

A source further reveals, “Kenny choreographed the Rs 70-crore chase sequence in Abu Dhabi and the core of climax, which is an important part of the film. The makers had especially briefed Peng for a larger-than-life introductory action scene of Prabhas and the fight sequence in the climax of the film alongside the gunfight in Europe. Bob has helped direct a huge gun battle based in the continent, too, while Dhilip has helmed the intriguing castle fight there wherein the locker falls down. Stunt Silva is responsible for the Mumbai traffic scuffle and the Europe resort encounter while Ram Laxman has directed the Lal Bungalow confrontation scene.”

The source adds that the expensive Abu Dhabi hunt sequence has turned out so well that Kenny has requested for its showreel to include in his portfolio as he believes this is one of his career’s best works.

Dismissing netizens' comparisons with Dhoom franchise, Prabhas asserts Saaho offers never-seen-before action set pieces
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; August 12, 2019)

Regardless of the different genres they belong to, it was inevitable that Prabhas' Saaho would be compared to Baahubali — after all, the actioner marks his return to the silver screen two years after he gave Indian cinema its biggest blockbuster. Soon after the trailer was launched, netizens drew parallels between the Shraddha Kapoor starrer and the Dhoom franchise. With high-octane action stunts performed on bikes and in helicopters, the sequences looked all too familiar to Bollywood's heist-action series, argued Twitterati.

"It's completely different from Dhoom. Just because our film has some bike sequences, people are finding similarities. We have many more high-octane stunts," asserts Prabhas, adding that international action director Kenny Bates — who has worked on films like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011) and Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (2011) earlier — has choreographed elaborate set pieces that have rarely been seen in Indian cinema. "The action sequences required a lot of prep and rehearsals. We worked on the Abu Dhabi chase sequence for almost a year. I needed to support the [vision of] the director and producers who spent a lot of money."

Fronting a multi-lingual, Prabhas reveals he struggled with his Hindi dialogues. "We read and write in Hindi at home, but we don't speak in the language as much. So, it was difficult to dub in Hindi, but I was able to manage it. Shraddha helped me with it."

The makers of the duo’s thriller have roped in Kenny Bates, the action director of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and the Transformers franchise to design a stunt aboard a chopper
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 26, 2019)

Mirror had earlier reported (July 18) that an eight-minute climax fight for Saaho, designed by Peng Zhang known for Hollywood biggies like Rush Hour 3, has been shot on a 10-acre specially created desert in Abu Dhabi during which Prabhas took on 100 international fighters. Now, we have learnt that the team flew to Italy to film another pivotal action scene. “It involved helicopter stunts and we had planned to shoot it in India. But it was difficult getting permission, so the team flew to Europe where an Italian military helicopter was sourced. Experts were on the sets throughout the shoot to ensure that safety measures were in place,” informed a source close to the development.

The action thriller marks the return of Prabhas on the big screen after SS Rajamouli’s Bahubali franchise. It opens on August 30 and is touted as India’s costliest action film. The makers have roped in another international action director, Kenny Bates, to design the chopper scene. Kenny has worked on big-budget films like Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, The Italian Job and the Transformers franchise. Both Prabhas and his leading lady, Shraddha Kapoor, who plays a cop, are a part of this scene.

“Such scenes are common in the West, but we have yet to see one so lavishly mounted in India. The action will be further enhanced with visual effects,” the source said, adding different cameras and even drones were used.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 29, 2019)

After shoots in Hyderabad, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Romania, Prabhas-Shraddha Kapoor’s action-thriller Saaho, with Neil Nitin Mukesh as the antagonist, arrived in Mumbai around two weeks ago. According to a source in the know, some lavishly-mounted action sequences on cars, trucks, bikes and even helicopters, including a chase sequence with the trio at Ballard Pier have been canned.

“Mumbai was recreated at a Hyderabad studio where the interior portions were picturised earlier. But for the exterior shots, they had to fly down to the Maximum City which forms an important part of the narrative. They were shooting in SoBo earlier, but later moved base to Karjat with plans to film in Aamby Valley as well,” informed the source.

While Neil has wrapped up his portions in Mumbai, Prabhas and Shraddha, who plays a cop for the first time, have a few more days’ work left. “After this, they return to Hyderabad to shoot a song with Shraddha and some more action sequences,” said the source, adding that Stunt Silva who has worked on Rajinikanth’s 2.0, Dhanush’s Maari 2 and Mohanlal’s Lucifer is one of the stunt choreographers of the Mumbai schedule. “Kenny Bates who’s worked on films like Transformers, The Italian Job and Rush Hour 3, is designing the action for the Hyderabad portions.”

With the August 15 release date looming large, the film is being simultaneously edited, with VFX work going on at major studios around the world. “There’s a European schedule remaining too for a song, but everyone is geared towards an Independence Day opening,” added the source.

Neil Nitin Mukesh on his Saaho experience, his first home production and how he feels to be a new dad
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 29, 2018)

On September 20, Neil Nitin Mukesh and wife Rukmini became proud parents of a daughter whom they have named Nurvi, the goddess of love. “My father (singer Nitin Mukesh) suggested the name as she was born during the Ganpati festival and ‘Nurvi’ is also mentioned during the aarti. We also wanted to continue with the family tradition of having names beginning with N,” says the new daddy.

Has his night duty started? “Not yet, since the mother and daughter are still at Rukmini’s mother’s home. I’ve seen my mom go through the phase with my younger brother Naman and my sister with her kids, so I’m prepared. Rukmini is a hands-on mother,” he avers.

They will come home on Dhanteras, November 5 and Neil is busy putting the finishing touches to his daughter’s nursery. He admits it’s still hard to believe that he’s a dad now, but when he’s around Nurvi, it’s beautiful and he gets emotional.

Neil has been working continuously since Nurvi’s birth and is hoping for a brief paternity break once he wraps up Saaho, Bypass Road and Firrkie.

The first teaser of Saaho was released on Prabhas’s birthday, October 23, and Neil who plays a pivotal role in the film, is thrilled with the feedback. They’ve finished about 65 per cent of the film, the last few days of shoot will happen in December in Hyderabad. “The action is of Hollywood standards. I felt I was on the sets of Batman and Christopher Nolan was around somewhere waiting to say ‘action.’ Kenny Bates (who was also the stunt coordinator on Pearl Harbor, The Italian Job and Transformers) is one of the finest action directors I’ve worked with. His work is all about destruction, yet he is such a gentleman,” gushes Neil, bowled over by the action-packed chases. “A lot of cars were blown up and came tumbling towards us. One flip blew my mind. While it was being filmed, we were asked to stay far away from the location. I’d only seen such a flip on screen before,” he says with awe, applauding the team for it’s brilliance and safety measures.

He’s also all praise for Prabhas who, when he learnt about Rukmini’s pregnancy during the shoot in Abu Dhabi, came to her in their hotel room to congratulate her. “We had packed up early that day and Prabhas had to go somewhere else, but he cancelled that to come and see Rukmini with flowers and a gift hamper. He is such a gentleman and bliss to work with,” raves Neil.

Meanwhile his first home production, Bypass Road, is almost 70 per cent complete. He admits he was nervous initially as his younger brother Naman is making his directorial debut with the film. “I didn’t know he had this kind of maturity. It took me back to my Johnny Gaddaar days when people would wonder if I’d be able to pull off the film. My brother is a little bit of an introvert, but he knows his job,” says Neil, gung-ho about Naman’s handling of a difficult, high risk action sequence in the thriller-drama. “One wrong step and it’d have created havoc. But Naman held his ground. He’s far more mature and calmer than me,” he acknowledges.

Meanwhile, he’s started writing his next production, a very different script from the three he has written. “I can’t reveal the genre yet but it’s something we want to explore after Bypass Road. We’re not sure yet if I will act in it and if Naman will direct it. We’ll take that call once the initial draft is ready,” Neil signs off. 

Actor to shoot for a hi-octane sequence for his trilingual with Kenny Bates, of Transformers and Armageddon fame
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 31, 2017)

Prabhas and his first Hindi film, Saaho, are all set to head to Abu Dhabi to shoot an extensive chase sequence over 15-20 days. Action choreographer Kenny Bates, who has worked on Hollywood hits like Transformers, Mission Impossible, Rush Hour and Armageddon, among others is the man in charge. The film is simultaneously being shot in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

A source from the film reveals, “The chase sequence with Prabhas is being shot on a grand scale and it will involve a lot of cars, trucks and other vehicles. It is an integral part of the narrative and has been in planning for a while now.”

The film’s spokesperson confirmed the news, saying, “Saaho is a futuristic action entertainer and Abu Dhabi is the perfect location for shooting some key chase sequences. The city’s skyscrapers make it the perfect backdrop for our schedule, the first of which was wrapped up in Hyderabad recently.”

The cast includes Shraddha Kapoor who is the leading lady, Neil Nitin Mukesh, the antagonist, along with Jackie Shroff, Mandira Bedi, Chunky Panday, Mahesh Manjrekar and Tinnu Anand. The high-octane action-drama went on the floors in August in Hyderabad.
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Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 31, 2017)

If cinephiles had assumed that South actor Prabhas had showcased his prowess as an action star with the much-acclaimed Baahubali, they will be happy to learn of what he has to offer in his next, Saaho. The multilingual film will apparently see Prabhas pull off a 20-minute chase sequence as he navigates the Burj Khalifa, among other destinations in Dubai. It’s touted as the longest chase sequence to feature in a Hindi film.

Hollywood action choreographer Kenny Bates, with films like Transformers (2007) and Die Hard (1988) to his credit, will train Prabhas for the Sujeeth-directed outing. The film’s spokesperson tells mid-day, “The sequence will involve the use of bikes, cars and trucks. UAE is known for its magnificent skyscrapers. Preparations are underway to make certain that the chase sequence looks like one among the most stylish ever created.”

Bates’s team, we hear, has told Prabhas to up his agility in order to navigate the route faster. “His physical preparation involves cardiovascular training, weight training, and plyometric obstacle races, all of which will help him pick up the moves easily,” a source says.

A source from the film’s stunt unit says, “The 20-minute chase sequence will primarily be shot in Dubai. Though permissions are yet to be procured, the producers wish to shoot a major chunk at the Khalifa. That will be followed by a week-long leg in Abu Dhabi.”

Should the makers fail to procure permission to film at the Khalifa, the shooting will take place at Abu Dhabi’s World Trade Center and Etihad Tower, the source says. The only other Bollywood film to have been shot at the Khalifa was Anees Bazmee’s Welcome Back (2015). A prelude to the chase sequence was filmed in Hyderabad in the last schedule, which wrapped up a few days ago. Given that Sujeeth hopes to retain continuity, shooting for this elaborate sequence will kick-off within two weeks.

In order to stay away from the glare of the paparazzi, an extended portion of the sequence will be filmed in remote sections of Abu Dhabi. “The backdrop will still be Dubai, but the makers may shoot in towns like Ras-Al-Khaimah, to minimize chances of a leak. Since it’s an outdoor shoot, it will be challenging for the makers to keep his look under wraps,” adds another source.

Saaho, which will be filmed in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil, pairs Prabhas with Shraddha Kapoor. It is being mounted on a budget of Rs 150 crore.