Sunny Deol is like ‘devta ka roop’: Action director Sham Kaushal dissects Gadar 2’s handpump scene

Action director Sham Kaushal dissected the design of the fan-favourite handpump scene in Gadar 2, and recalled working with Sunny Deol.

Sunny Deol in a still from Gadar 2.

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Veteran action director Sham Kaushal, who most recently worked on the blockbuster hit Gadar 2, spoke about his collaborative experience with actor Sunny Deol, and designing the fan-favourite handpump scene in the film. The ‘handpump’ played a key role in the original 2001 film, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, and returned in the sequel, which debuted in theatres on August 11.

In an interview with India Today, Sham Kaushal, who also happens to be the father of actors Vicky Kaushal and Sunny Kaushal, said that he designed the handpump almost as if it was a bigger, more majestic character than Sunny’s Tara Singh. He also described the actor as a very calm person on set, but noted that Sunny has the ability to transform once the director calls action.

Also read | ‘Sunny Deol started weeping on the phone’: Gadar 2 director Anil Sharma recalls tearful conversation, star said, ‘We did it’

He said, “He is a cool guy, we’d greet each other with a Punjabi jhappi when we’d meet on set. He becomes a different person after start camera action. Otherwise, he is shaant, lagta hai devta ka roop hai (he is very calm on set, and it looks like he’s an avatar of God). He’s a very sweet person, he behaves in a very unhurried manner, but when he is unleashed on screen, it’s like watching a lion.”

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Speaking about the handpump scene, Sham Kaushal said in Hindi, “It started on the page, with the writing and the direction. But executing it was my responsibility. Even a slight change to the closeups in that sequence would have ruined it. My take on it was this: that the handpump wasn’t a handpump, but an even bigger hero than Sunny Deol had suddenly appeared off-screen behind him. We didn’t immediately reveal who he’d seen out of frame, but made it seem like an even bigger Hulk was standing there. Then we added reactions, built tension, and only then did we reveal the handpump. If we’d revealed the handpump immediately, it wouldn’t have been as fun.”

Gadar 2 debuted with Rs 40 crore on opening day, but peaked on Independence Day, when it made Rs 55 crore. The film has emerged as the second-biggest hit of the year so far, behind Pathaan, and has made nearly Rs 420 crore so far.

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