Sidhaant Sachdev: Sanjay Dutt has jumped from a 40-foot wall, did not use body double

Sanjay Dutt plays a ghostbuster in the horror comedy; (inset) Sidhaant Sachdev

Last year, mid-day reported that Sanjay Dutt was foraying into horror comedy with Sidhaant Sachdev's directorial venture (Baba vs bhoot, June 7). Earlier this week, the actor unveiled the teaser of the film, which has been titled The Bhootnii. The horror comedy sees Dutt as a ghostbuster fighting Mouni Roy, an evil spirit who resides in a tree. Sachdev, who has written the script with Vankush Arora, believes that the April 18 release perfectly balances horror and action, playing to the leading man's strength with the latter. "We have five action sequences in The Bhootnii and Sanjay Dutt pulled them off."

With a 44-year career behind him, Dutt has been one of Bollywood's biggest action heroes. Sachdev says he was impressed seeing the actor, at 65, perform the stunts without a body double. "He has jumped from a 40-foot wall. People use body doubles for stunts, but he did everything - from jumping to punching, and wielding weapons," states the director.

For the first-time director, it was a huge boost of confidence when Dutt loved the script instinctively and even decided to produce it. "I met him at 1.30 pm and by 4 pm, he was signing the film," recalls Sachdev. He says the actor-producer has been deeply involved in The Bhootnii's making. "He has been there throughout. When I'd take a draft to him, he'd ask me to enhance it by adding more emotions. Now, he is helping me in post-production."