Many years ago, actress Vijaya-shanti proved that heroines too can do action scenes in spectacular fashion and earned the moniker, ‘Lady Amitabh Bachchan’. Looks like the trend is back as a slew of divas are game to push the envelope by taking up brave roles that involve daredevil stunts.
Moving away from her glamorous portfolio, Pragya Jaiswal for the first time will be seen as a cop in her forthcoming Telugu film Nakshatram, directed by Krishna Vamsi. The actress trained in martial arts and kickboxing to look the part. “It’s an exciting yet tough role that has several shades. I wanted to showcase my different abilities and that’s precisely why I didn’t sign any project immediately after Kanche,” reveals Pragya.
Describing how she prepared for the role, she says, “I had earlier trained in karate for over five years and am also a black belt holder, so all that came in handy, but still, it was a tough task prepping up. Once I was on board, I had to train in kickboxing and martial arts. I have a couple of challenging fight sequences in the film, and had to perform them without using a body double. I practiced for three months for two hours every day under a trainer to get my moves right. The role pushed me to do things I never thought I could do — like fighting goons.”
Joining the list is Isha Koppikar, who will be seen as a fearless cop in her Tollywood comeback, Keshava. Isha, who has been training in martial arts for more than a decade, performed the action sequences without using a body double.
“I’ve performed all the action sequences by myself. I’ve been doing martial arts for the last 13 years and naturally, it was exciting to perform the stunts. I’m almost the hero,” she says adding, “Even though I hold a black belt, I had to rehearse quite a bit along with the team as it was the first time I was doing action sequences. We rehearsed for two hours every day for over a month, so that we could get a hang of the moves. I will demonstrate Hapkido, a highly eclectic style of Korean martial arts.”
Justifying Isha’s role, Keshava director Sudheer Varma says, “Since the role involves action sequences, I was looking for someone who would have a fresh appeal for the Telugu audience. Isha has already trained in martial arts. Since she’s a performer and the film marks her comeback to Telugu cinema, she fit the bill perfectly.”
Pragya Jaiswal had to train in kickboxing and martial arts for Nakshatram
Tamannaah, who trained in sword-fighting and horse riding for Baahubali, will be seen giving a power-packed performance. Talking about her experience, the actress says, “Learning horse riding initially took me a little time. But once I started getting the hang of it, I enjoyed every bit. I used to spend more than an hour each day training under stuntman Jeetu Verma. I learnt things like understanding the horse’s mindset, how to catch the rhythm, how to tame and control the animal.”
Raashi Khanna plays a cop in Supreme
“One of the biggest challenges was swordfighting because the sword was very heavy. The practice lasted for three to four weeks, and I got bruised while trying to get my posture right,” she adds.
For the role of Devasena, Anushka Shetty received special training in sword fighting and horse riding. However, having put on weight for Size Zero, the actress had to first shed her extra kilos under trainer Kiran Dembla.
Pranitha performed stunts in Dynamite
Actress Pranitha was specially trained under Vijayan master for performing stunts in the film Dynamite. “I practiced for over three weeks under Vijayan master, and we went on to shoot the action sequences. They were a bit tough and I even got injured while performing the scenes, but it was a learning experience,” says Pranitha.
Vijayan, action choreographer and trainer, says, “The method for the training depends on the kind of role the actor is playing. For Dynamite, I asked Pranitha to warm up initially during the training and later she was made to practice kicks.
“I first put actors and actresses in a comfort zone and then work on their strengths. You can’t make them prepare for the role if they don’t enjoy the training sessions. I have seen them showing a lot of dedication during the special training for the stunts because when they perform stunts on screen, it should look authentic,” he adds.
