For fans of action movies, the climax is the true payoff. Director Ayan Mukerji knows this all too well, which is why he has saved the best for the last in the shoot of War 2. Over the past few months, he has shot several action sequences—from one set inside an aircraft (This flight’s ready to take off, April 12) to another playing out against a Japanese monastery (The samurai spy, March 19)—with leading man Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR, who plays the antagonist. Now, we’ve learnt that from mid-December, the two actors will film the climax in Mumbai over a 15-day schedule.

Where is the clash of the titans taking place? We’re told it starts against the backdrop of a hangar, which then moves on to the villain’s hideout.

A source reveals, “From the second week of December, Jr NTR and Hrithik will shoot the final face-off at Film City in Goregaon and YRF Studios in Andheri. A massive set representing Jr NTR’s hideout is being built at Film City, while the stint at YRF Studios will include more of close-up and VFX-heavy shots. The late Rajat Poddar had designed most sets; only the backdrop for the climax was remaining. Producer Aditya Chopra, along with Ayan, is looking into the design and execution of the set as well as the action involved.”

It is already known that the producer-director duo roped in 11 stunt coordinators, including Steve Brown of Wonder Woman (2017) fame, Miguel Juzgado, who worked in Warrior Nun (2020), and Franz Spilhaus, for the espionage thriller. For this set-piece, they have zeroed in on three action directors.

The source elaborates, “Adi sir selected American stunt coordinator Spiro Razatos, who previously worked on Venom [2018] and The Fate Of The Furious [2017], and Se-yeong Oh of Avengers: Age Of Ultron [2015] and Snowpiercer [2013] fame. From home turf, he has brought Sunil Rodrigues on board, after being impressed by his work in Jawan [2023] and Pathaan [2023]. The three have banded together to design a stylized fight sequence that includes fierce hand-to-hand combat. The December leg will be the final schedule of War 2’s talkie portions.”

There’s more, of course, when accomplished dancers like Roshan and Jr NTR are involved. The makers are lining up a dance-off between the duo.

The insider adds, “Adi and Ayan are working with choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant on a dance-off. For January, the team has also lined up the shoot of a song featuring Hrithik and leading lady Kiara Advani.”

He may have started his director’s innings with rom-coms, but over the past decade, Siddharth Anand has definitively moved towards the action genre. Within weeks of Pathaan’s release, the filmmaker resumed the shooting of Fighter with Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone.

Now, we hear that the director has lined up a month-end schedule that will focus entirely on the film’s action. For the leg, Anand will reunite with his War (2019) action director SeYeong Oh, who previously worked on Snowpiercer (2013) and Avengers: The Age Of Ultron (2015).

The stunt director had designed several hand-to-hand combat sequences between Roshan and Tiger Shroff, which went on to become among the highlights in War. Anand wants Oh to up the ante for the aerial action thriller.

“For the 10-day schedule, the south Korean stunt coordinator has imagined a big-scale battle sequence, complete with weapons. The production design team has already begun building a massive set at the SRPF ground in Goregaon, Mumbai. The set-piece will include Hrithik and Deepika, and will have Oh’s signature hand-to-hand combat scenes,” says a source.

We are told the lead actors are currently prepping for the leg. Before that, however, the unit will conduct a short stint from April 7 in Mumbai. “Some dramatic talkie portions will be canned at a suburban studio. A set representing the interior of an air force base has been built for the purpose,” says the source.

The action schedule, which is likely to be wrapped up in the first week of May, will be followed by a three-week spell during which several emotional scenes will be filmed.