How many takes did the scene require?
It’s fairly obvious to the viewer that it was not Basil, but a stunt double who did a stunt. I guess we took around five takes for this scene. But we didn’t have the same leverage for other scenes like the stunts that involved breaking the TV and table. We had only two of each and so we could only go for a maximum of two takes. For the table scene, we couldn’t take the first shot because Darshana stopped the kick midway but the stuntman did his move and broke the table. For the next shot, we told Darshana to just go for it and kick, and it was a successful take.
Did Darshana also have a stunt double?
Yes, she did have a stunt double, but it was a guy. I did find it quite surprising, but this is common in India because there is a lack of stuntwomen and female stunt performers. The stunt double for actresses are commonly men. In fact, I have also been a stunt double for actresses.
How about female stunt choreographers then?
I haven’t heard of anyone like that in India. This is also very rare in the US. But there are definitely more female stunt performers in other countries. More girls should pick up this profession in India because the market is quite big and there is a lot of demand.
Does gender matter while choreographing fight scenes? Did you have to choreograph differently for the film because it was centred around a woman?
Action choreography is gender neutral. I looked at Darshana’s skillset, the kind of kicks she can do and what techniques looked beautiful on screen and so on. So, it was based on her capabilities and not her gender. And I have to say that Darshana was very disciplined and hardworking. She never complained even when she had an injury. She injured her hip and right leg during the practice because of all the extensive kicking she had to do.
Even during the shoot of the last fight scene on the chicken farm, we had very less time before the lights went out. So, we had to nail it in a maximum of two takes. I took over the camera and Darshana was under a lot of pressure. We were like, “Darshana, Darshana, one more, one more, you can do it.” It was crazy but she didn’t complain. She made the story and character believable. Similarly, it is not that the fight scenes should be more realistic if women are involved. Realistic or over-the-top, it depends on what the story demands and what the director has in mind.