Prabhu Dheva: There is ‘Kill Bill’ reference for ‘Action Jackson’

You must also be happy that the controversy around the film’s title has been sorted and you are retaining ‘Action Jackson’. How did you arrive at it though?
This is an entertaining film with a lot of fun element to it. Also, audience from 6 to 60 year old can come and watch it. For a theme and setting like this, we wanted a title that conveys the action and music theme right. The title Action Jackson went very well with it; after all, it has a good ring to it that complimented what our film is all about. Moreover, it also turns into AJ as initials, which also sounds as Ajay. There were no second thoughts after that.

How does the ‘Kill Bill’ reference play for the film?
Yes, it all began with the Kill Bill reference; it is definitely there for Action Jackson. We thought of bringing on something new for the action sequences and shoot on entirely new locations. Just like Quentin Tarantino, I love yellow color as well. It was matching for the film and we could bring in the yellow backdrop. We felt that a sword fight would really add on to the tonality of the film and fortunately it has come quite well. In Indian films, I have not seen a sword fight for long and with the kind of stylish cut that has been put together for Action Jackson, it turns out all the more unique. Moreover, Ajay can carry it off very convincingly.

Talking of Ajay, he seems to have gone all out for the film, especially with his look and physique.
Yes, we required him to be seen in a bare body. For that he went ahead and lost 17 kilos. At one point in time I thought it was enough but then he was insistent that if he is to be seen fighting bare bodied, he had to make it worth it. In two months flat he came back all lean and stylish. Yes, this story has been told multiple times but I am in awe each time I recollect the transformation Ajay went through for the film. That’s some dedication for sure.