Dhurandhar action director Aejaz Gulab defends film's violence: Not mindless action
India Today
Action director Aejaz Gulab emphasises the emotional realism behind Dhurandhar's intense action scenes, saying the film does not feature "mindless action."
Action director Aejaz Gulab has emphasised that the action sequences in Dhurandhar: The Revenge are not merely for spectacle but are grounded in emotion and realism. In a recent interview, Gulab revealed that director Aditya Dhar gave him complete creative freedom to design the film's intense action scenes.
With a filmography spanning over 500 projects, including Shootout at Lokhandwala, Ek Villain, and series like The Family Man and Rana Naidu, Gulab said Dhurandhar has finally brought him long-overdue recognition. “People used to praise action in South films. It feels good that action in Hindi films is finally being appreciated,” he said, while speaking to PTI.
The action director shared that nearly 135 days were spent filming action sequences, preceded by around 70 days of rigorous preparation. Unlike many Bollywood productions where action is often constrained by time and budgets, Gulab said Dhar allowed him the space to plan extensively.
“The action is part fiction, part reality. Aditya sir gave me a free hand to do whatever I wanted,” he said, adding that every sequence was crafted keeping the story, characters, and their emotional intensity in mind before being refined with the director’s inputs.
For the film, Gulab led a large team comprising seven assistants, 12 stuntwomen, and close to 300 stunt performers. To achieve a global scale, he collaborated with international stunt directors Yannick Ben and Sea-Young Oh, both known for their work across Hollywood and major Indian films.
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