Ali Abbas Zafar: Had to up the ante with Akshay, Tiger

From making fights grittier, to roping in international stunt coordinators, director Zafar on doing justice to Bade Miyan Chote Miyan heroes’ action prowess

Action comes easy to Ali Abbas Zafar. One only needs to skim through his filmography or see his latest offering, Bloody Daddy, to understand the director’s command over the genre. It’s not surprising then that his next, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (BMCM), too is an action entertainer. But the stakes are high as the project unites two of Bollywood’s biggest action heroes, Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff. “The principal photography of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is complete,” begins the director. “It was a difficult film to shoot. Its universe is [similar to that of] mainstream commercial entertainers, but it reflects a lot of things happening around us today. The biggest challenge was to keep the film’s grand scale intact, while bringing in realism.”

The Kumar and Shroff-starrer went on floors in Mumbai in January. Working with the best in the genre, Zafar says he had the added responsibility to dial up the action quotient. “I had to do justice to their craft and up the ante with them. It was also a challenge to write their characters. While you have to show them as heroes, they ought to have soul and emotional depth. Also, Akshay and Tiger’s fighting style is different [from other actors]. So, the action we have adopted is grittier.” Expect lots of guns, tanks and car explosions, says Zafar. He adds that he roped in international stunt coordinators — from Craig Macrae and Katja Hopkins who have worked on Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), to Tadahiro Nakamura who was a part of the Bullet Train (2022) crew — for the film.

BMCM — also starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, Sonakshi Sinha, Alaya F and Manushi Chhillar — has been shot in Scotland, London, the UAE and India. With it, the director emphasises that he has continued his signature style. “My movies are always raw with real stunts. When I write [the scenes], I visualise them. So, when I am on the film set, I can see [it translating] in front of the camera. For me, CGI is a supporting tool; over 80 per cent of the stunts have to be performed.”

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