Bollywood actors John Abraham and Varun Dhawan spent their last four days in Abu Dhabi dangling from a helicopter.
One of the most explosive action sequences of Dishoom, an action adventure partly filmed in this country’s capital, was saved for the last. However, the two actors had different approaches to the scene.
While Dhawan, who is relatively new to the acting field, was grappling with the uncomfortable feeling of blood rushing to his head, Abraham, Bollywood’s go-to man for action roles, was finding the adrenaline rush therapeutic. The crew of Dishoom has been set up in Abu Dhabi for the last 45 days and have been filming in over 30 locations across Abu Dhabi.
“I had a migraine yesterday, but it just magically disappeared when I was hanging off the chopper. I felt the blood rush to my head and it’s one of the best remedies that I have discovered. It’s an expensive, unconventional remedy and I won’t advocate it to all,” said Abraham in an interview with tabloid! on the last day of filming on Wednesday.
He was in a relaxed mood as he was flying back to Mumbai along with his co-star Dhawan. All that was left to film were two songs in Mumbai as the truly challenging action sequences were filmed successfully in Abu Dhabi.
Both described their filming schedule in the UAE as supremely satisfying and fruitful. While Abraham embraced the thrills, Dhawan took some time to warm up to it.
“Some of the sequences were seriously scary … I wondered how can you have a normal expression on your face when you are hanging upside down with blood rushing to your face. You are in an abnormal position dude,” Dhawan said.
Directed by his elder brother Rohit and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Dishoom is described as an action adventure that documents the life of two policemen in the span of 36 hours as they their search for a missing person. Abraham plays a nicotine-addled, reckless Special Task Investigative officer from India, who partners up with an Emirati-Indian cop, played by Dhawan, as they try to track down the missing guy in an undisclosed Arab country. The scenes filmed in Abu Dhabi form the spine of the action drama.
“I have been doing it [action sequences] for the last 13 or 14 years and there’s an experience that comes with it. When I am told to hang off that building, the inexperienced me would have gone: ‘what the [expletive] is this?’ But today, my head is trained to think: what safety checks are in place?” said Abraham, who has another film, Rocky Handsome, releasing soon.
Being the good partner that he is, he has always ensured that he had Dhawan’s back.
“I held his hand and said: you will be totally fine. Varun is all heart. He’s a clean, soft guy. He’s like my little brother,” said Abraham. As if on cue, Dhawan steps onto the outdoor terrace at the Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi and greets him with a hug. The interviews were set up in a speed dating format. The actor and the directors rotated their seats and addressed questions by select local media.
‘Larger-than-life action sequences’
“The action in Dishoom is very different from what you would see in a film like Rocky Handsome. For Rocky, I had to train in martial arts. But Dishoom [has] larger-than-life action sequences with choppers, speed boats. We had to depend a lot on our action director Allan Amin and our crew from South Africa. Safety was so important,” said Abraham, thanking the Abu Dhabi Film & TV Commission and the UAE government for its unwavering support.
Dhawan even had the luxury of speaking to real-life policemen to get an idea about his role.
“I spent a lot of time with real cops. Luckily, the government provided us with the real cops and special police on the sets. There were undercover cops who were around to see what was happening. During lunch breaks, I spent a lot of time talking to them. Did you know the police here had six types of uniforms and there’s a reason behind the badges?” said Dhawan, who is now confident about moving around in Abu Dhabi. As if to prove his cultural proximity to Abu Dhabi, he even gave us a crash course on the gutra and its functions.
“Did you know that it can open up and become a chain? In the olden days, when you go riding on the camels, they would put it around the camel’s legs so that they don’t run away. I tried to learn about this city and its small things. If you are going play a part in the city, you should know it,” said Dhawan, adding that he was confident about living here in the future. While the boys enjoyed their filming schedule in Abu Dhabi, the executive director of twofour54’s Film & TV service, Paul Baker, described them as an efficient team.
“They have been fantastically respectful, tidy and collectively great. They have worked hard to get it done successfully,” said Baker. But being efficient also translated into a life devoid of parties and late nights for the lead actors. If you check their social media accounts, it will be filled with pictures of the lead actors pumping iron in the gym, with an occasional treat like having a giant ice-cream.
“I kept telling Varun that action is not like dance. In action, there is no room for mistakes or re-takes. You are finito with one mistake. You need to be attentive and that comes with discipline. You can’t have late-night parties like before. You have to be like a hawk with your reflexes in full gear. And my boy did wonderfully. You will be able to see it all live on July 28,” said Abraham.
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“If I looked scared, my brother would come and tell me about the action sequence of Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible and how he scaled the Burj Khalifa and how a 50-year-old man did 13 takes of it,” said Varun Dhawan about having his brother as a director.
“There can be only one crazy, obsessed guy on the sets and that I discovered was my brother,” said Dhawan with a laugh.
“Dishoom is the new-age Dhoom. It is going to find a life of its own. It’s a buddy cop film something you have never seen,” said John Abraham, adding that sequels are a strong possibility with Dishoom.
