In director Sabbir Khan’s new action film Baaghi, there will be no cars exploding, no firing guns and no weapons. Just hand-to-hand combat. A lot of it.
“We wanted to push the action… stretch the boundaries and offer audiences something they have never seen before,” he says. “We wanted to make an action film that people can remember for years.”
Doing the heavy lifting is Tiger Shroff, who made his Bollywood debut in Khan’s 2014 film Heropanti. While not a big hit with the critics, the romantic action film was a moderate success, with Shroff, a Taekwondo black belt, largely praised for his fighting scenes.
In Baaghi, which means rebel, Shroff says he gets to push his craft further.
“I had to go for a lot of workshops in different kinds of martial arts that were very alien to my body,” says the 26-year-old who plays a non-conformist who sets out to fight for his lady love. “We had action choreographers from Thailand. Their style is very different. And I didn’t realise that until we were actually rolling cameras. Every time you rehearse, you rehearse at half speed, but when the camera rolls, these guys go at crazy speed. They come at you for real and you start freaking out.
“But it enhances your reaction because you’re literally fighting for your life in front of the camera,” he adds laughing. “So it’s the real thing that you see on screen.”
The film is inspired by a Telugu film called Varsam.
“We had the rights to the film but I thought it was redundant and not relevant to today’s time,” says director Khan. “The only thing that I liked was that it was a retelling of a classic tale. So I took that idea, developed it and created an entire new world, and created this story within that new world.”
In the film, Shroff’s character Ronnie is sent to South India where his master teaches him Kalaripayattu, an ancient martial arts form that originated in Kerala, considered one of the oldest fighting systems in existence. South Indian actor Sudheer Babu plays a villain in the film.
The research team spent nine months to understand the cultural nuances, says Khan.
“There’s a man [Grandmaster Shifuji Shaurya Bharadwaj] who plays Tiger’s character’s guru in the film. We hired him to coach for the film due to his knowledge of Kalaripayattu. But I couldn’t find a 70-year-old actor who would be convincing enough or have the same level of fitness to play someone who would look like he knew the art. If I cast any other actor, it would look fake. So we just asked him, and although he hesitated at first, he came on board once he heard the theme of the film.”
Lead actress Shraddha Kapoor also gets in on the action, says Khan.
“With my last film and this one, I’ve always been conscious that my films will not be too hero-centric. It’s very important for me to have them as equals,” he says. “When I approached Shraddha, I told her I didn’t want her to feel like a damsel in distress or the stereotypical Hindi actress. I wanted her to step up and kick as many butts as Tiger.
“I wanted to push the envelope with her. She has a sweet girl-next-door image and I was hoping her fans would like to see her in a different avatar.”
Kapoor, 27, who’s also sung the song Sab Tera for the film, is the daughter of Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor. Shroff, the son of actor Jackie Shroff, is a childhood friend.
“Not many people know this but I had a huge crush on Shraddha,” Shroff laughs. “I was always in awe of her when we were in school. So when I met her recently, we just broke the ice immediately. She’s such a positive soul. She’s so easy to be around. I felt so natural and easy and that really held our chemistry on screen.
“She’s such a big star now. But she brings none of that starry baggage and tantrums. You just fall in love as soon as you meet her.”
While he’s back in kicking and jumping mode, with a lot of shirtless scenes thrown in, Shroff says his role in Baaghi is not similar at all to his debut film.
“What they fight for is similar but there’s more of a graft to this character. There are more shades and more depth. He’s a better fighter but I think the emotional content is more intriguing than the action itself,” he says. “Of course, I have to make an identity for myself in Bollywood, and keeping that in mind, I’m glad that this film allows me to express one of my talents to its full potential.”
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Baaghi releases in the UAE on April 28.
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Tiger Shroff’s heroes
“I love watching entertainers like Michael Jackson, Prince and James Brown, who were the full package. They did everything. Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr… they fascinate me. They don’t make them like that anymore.
Of course, Hrithik Roshan is my biggest inspiration in Bollywood. I look up to him. Every time I see him, I’m star struck. I can’t get enough of that man.
For martial arts, I admire Bruce Lee very much. Not because of his style, but because of his charisma. His body language is so appealing. There are so many artists who can do so many things with their bodies, but with Bruce Lee, his presence is enough. I always believe less is more and he encapsulated that best.”
Shraddha Kapoor’s singing
“I had to push her to do that,” says director Sabbir Khan, on Shraddha Kapoor, who’s sung the song Sab Tera in the film. “She sings very well and I’m glad I pushed her for it. There’s been a lot of appreciation for the song.”
Sabbir Khan on his films
“The films that I’m trying to make are reflection of the films I grew up watching. Those were large screen productions, films that gave audiences euphoric reactions to the action and music. The type of films that I want to make are the films you come with your family and you get a collective emotion. Those films are difficult to make. Mainstream cinema, if done sensibly, is a very tough process. Trying to give something to everybody is not easy. It has to work for two hours plus, and it takes time to make films like that.”
