Keen to up the ante with Radhe, South Korean stunt director Myeong-haeng Heo discusses transforming Salman Khan’s action style by incorporating different forms.
A still from Radhe
Considering action is one of Salman Khan’s strengths, director Prabhudeva knew he could up the ante in Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai. That the story of an encounter specialist, who has unconventional methods of seeking justice, lent itself seamlessly to action was an added advantage. So, in came South Korean stunt director Myeong-haeng Heo, and out went the traditional kicks-and-punches routine.
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Weeks before shooting the fight sequences, the action director — who has worked on The Good The Bad The Weird (2008) and Extreme Job (2019), among others — familiarised himself with Khan’s style of action, thus understanding his strengths and weaknesses. He says that the superstar worked closely with his team to perfect the stunts. “Salman was always enthusiastic about the new sequences that we would suggest. We would do a couple of rehearsals with him, and he was adaptive,” says Heo, who forays into Bollywood with the ZEE5 film that also stars Randeep Hooda, Jackie Shroff and Disha Patani.
Action-director duo Anbariv has choreographed the film’s climax
Realising that the superstar had rarely dabbled in martial arts on screen, Heo incorporated elements of the art form in the stunts. “My team and I watched some of his previous films, [studying] the action he performed in them. But here, we have [developed] a different style. We have added martial arts, sword fighting, and fight sequences with props.”
If Prabhudeva roped in Heo to bring a fresh perspective, he also brought National Award-winning stunt choreographers Anbumani and Arivumani, popularly known as Anbariv, to design an elaborate set-piece for the climax. The high-octane scene, which sees Khan in a face-off with Hooda and his gang, was shot in Goa. Interestingly, in their early days, the duo had choreographed a stunt for Khan in Bodyguard (2011). Anbumani says, “After venturing out as independent action directors, we [harboured a wish] to direct a spectacular action scene for Salman. With Radhe, we got the chance and have choreographed a [grand] fight sequence.”
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