Akshaye Khanna’s performance in Dhurandhar is being appreciated all over the internet. The actor’s flawless on-screen presence comes from his cinematic approach and preparation to deliver any scene. One such BTS story was recently shared by Akshaye’s Dhurandhar co-star Aditya Uppal, who played the role of Omar Haider (Pakistani task force member) in the film. In an interview, he revealed that the actor himself asked to hit him hard during their van scene together. He also opened up about experiencing hesitation in beating up a senior actor.
During a podcast with Abhishek Pali Talks, he expressed, “There was a little hesitation at first. He is a senior actor. But once I am Omar Haider, he is Rehman Dakait for me. No matter how much you prepare yourself, you feel the hesitation for a second. Sanjay sir hit him and then asked us to beat him up. We ended up hitting him, that shot has been edited now, but it was quite extended.”
Aditya further added, “When I hit him for the first time, obviously I was a little taken aback, I thought of doing it softly. He shouldn’t get hurt for real because it was also a compact space. Van was not even moving, people were just shaking it during the shoot. Aditya sir asked me to go for it. In fact, Akshaye sir told me, ‘Tez se maaro, main gir nahi raha hu (Hit me properly, I am not falling)’. When he said that the second time, then I hit him properly and went all out.”
When the host asked about their training to operate guns, the actor shared, “We got a proper weapon training. Aditya sir is very particular about this that whenever the actor comes on set, they should be trained properly before. If you have a shot or even if you are in that scene, then you should know how to use a gun. And I was playing an officer from Pakistan, so it was even more important how I operate a gun, it had to be different from an untrained criminal.”
He continued, “There were three different types of gun, in which the gun I had was a glock gun. I had to train myself on how to unload the magazine and how to run the glock. So, you need to learn the mechanism. He is very particular about not wasting time when you come on the set, the scene should be done with preparation.”
Directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar also features Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Sara Arjun, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and many others. The film has already crossed the Rs 800 crore mark at the global box office.