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.”

Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; September 15, 2019)

Tiger Shroff is gearing up for the release of his next, War, in which he is pitted against Hrithik Roshan. Sources say that the young actor’s entry scene is a hand-to-hand (HTH) combat scene, and is one of the longest introductory action sequences in Bollywood. Also, what makes it stand out is that the Baaghi hero filmed it in one shot. “Tiger is the best action hero in the country when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. He has entertained audiences with his brilliant skills and we wanted to show people something so raw that it will blow their minds. So, we came up with an idea that will stun audiences with his entry sequence,” says director Siddharth Anand.

The helmer adds that it is a two-and-a-half minute long shot filmed without any cuts. “We flew down the best HTH action choreographer in the world, SeaYoung Oh (Age of Ultron and Snowpiercer), to design this sequence. Tiger will be seen on a rampage as he will take down an army of people, with his bare hands. It’s going to be an adrenaline-rushing entry,” he enthuses.

The Student Of The Year 2 actor prepped, practised and rehearsed to ensure that he was ready to do it in one shot. No wonder, the director is all praises when he says, “On the day of the shoot, he was flawless and executed this complex action choreography with precision.”

DNA (August 20, 2019)

After showing glimpses of high-octane action sequences between Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff in the teaser of their upcoming film, War, director Siddharth Anand reveals that it took one year to choreograph all the stunts. “I don’t think any movie in India has spent over a year to design action sequences. I wanted to create a non-stop adrenaline-pumping visual extravaganza for the Indian audiences and for that, all of us had to give over a year to choreograph the sequences. We had four action directors living and working in different parts of the world, and it was important to jam with them on how to make War the biggest action film. We want the audiences to be proud that an Indian movie can do what a big-budget Hollywood actioner delivers.”

Like we informed you earlier, four of the top action directors — Paul Jennings (The Dark Knight, Game of Thrones), Franz Spilhaus (Safe House, Eye in the Sky), SeaYoung Oh (Age of Ultron, Snowpiercer) and Parvez Shaikh (Tiger Zinda Hai, Kesari, Mary Kom) — all specialists in creating a different type of spectacle — have designed the stunts.

Siddharth adds that the biggest Hollywood action films have, at the most, four action sequences, while he will have seven such set pieces. “We had two of the biggest action superstars in our film and we wanted to deliver to the expectations of the people. The response to the teaser has validated our effort and we are hoping that audiences will love the film as well.”

Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; July 31, 2019)

Touted to be a mega action-entertainer, the makers of Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff’s War have gone all out to up the scale of stunts in the film. After roping in four top big action directors — Paul Jennings, Franz Spilhaus, SeaYoung Oh and Parvez Shaikh — all specialists in creating a different type of spectacle, we have learnt that Tiger will be seen wielding the Gatling gun. The weapon is used by elite military forces, especially in the US. It is said that the kill-machine can fire around 2,000 rounds of bullets in a minute. Mobile and lightweight, it can be used for fighting on foot or mounted to improve precision. Incidentally, it is being used for the first time in a Bollywood film.

“While making War, we kept one thing in mind constantly — what will make this film the biggest action-entertainer that India has seen. All our effort has been in making this film a visual spectacle for audiences, especially action genre lovers. Both, Hrithik and Tiger, have already wowed people with their action avatars in their previous films, so we wanted to push the boundaries more. For one scene, we got the world’s most powerful machine gun — Gatling — and choreographed an action sequence featuring Tiger. It is a sight to see him tear down a city with this insanely powerful piece of a military weapon. He is an incredible action hero and we wanted him to show people something that he has never done before,” discloses director Siddharth Anand.

Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; July 19, 2019)

The makers of the Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff-starrer recently unveiled the teaser and title of the film —War, where the two action heroes are seen pitted against each other. We hear, there are massive fight sequences in the movie for which the makers have roped in big action directors from across the globe.

“When we have Hrithik taking on Tiger, the promise of the film to audiences becomes huge and we wanted to deliver the action experience for people to feel the adrenaline rush. We have four of the top action directors from different parts of the world like Paul Jennings, Franz Spilhaus, SeaYoung Oh and Parvez Shaikh — all specialists in creating a different type of spectacle, choreographing breath-taking, never-seen-before action stunts. The two actors will be seen fighting each other on land, ocean, ice and even air! We will be disclosing all these big action moments strategically to audiences,” says director, Siddharth Anand.

Paul Jennings has worked in Hollywood action spectacles like The Dark Knight starring Christian Bale, San Andreas starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Reacher starring Tom Cruise and the series Game of Thrones. South Korean master action director SeaYoung Oh is known for designing brilliant hand-to-hand combat sequences. He has worked in films like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Pokemon XY and Snowpiercer among others. Franz Spilhaus has designed spectacular action sequences in films like Safe House starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, Eye in the Sky, Death Race, etc. Parvez Shaikh has previously designed action in big-ticket Bollywood films like Tiger Zinda Hai, Junglee, Kesari and Mary Kom among others.

The film has been shot in 15 cities, including India, Finland, Australia, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland and Sweden.

DNA (July 31, 2018)

When Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff meet on the big screen, there are bound to be fireworks, especially because their first project together is an action-oriented one. Now, two acclaimed action choreographers have been roped in to design high-adrenaline sequences for the ambitious movie. The project, which is produced by Yash Raj Films, is being helmed by Siddharth Anand, who had last directed Bang Bang (2014), which starred Hrithik and Katrina Kaif.

EAST MEETS WEST
Siddharth says, “We want to push the benchmark of action movies that are made in our country. So, we are bringing two of the biggest action choreographers together to design some of the most outlandish and visually-spectacular sequences. On one hand, we have Andy Armstrong from Hollywood and on the other, we have SeaYoung Oh, who is an outstanding martial arts action choreographer from South Korea.” While Andy is the man behind the stunts in The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Charlie’s Angels and Planet Of the Apes; Mr Oh has worked on high-profile projects like Avengers: Age of Ultron.

LARGER-THAN-LIFE PREPARATIONS
The film will go on floors in September and wrap up by the end of next February. Speaking about tying up with the two action choreographers, Siddharth adds, “The best of the East is collaborating with the best of the West to bring to life sensational sequences. Expect larger-than-life, grand, gritty and raw action that will keep you at the edge of your seats.” The as-yet-untitled flick, which has Vaani Kapoor opposite Hrithik, will open in cinemas on October 2, 2019.


Andy R Armstrong and Mr Oh