Cut Out for Combat

There’s nothing a hero can do that a heroine can’t. That’s the new mantra in Tinseltown. She can make a Hummer carve corners, casually wield a bazooka and effect a rooftop rescue. Like Shilpa Shetty in Dus.

‘‘When Anubhav approached me for Dus, his selling line was that mine was a hero’s role. That just did it for me,’’ laughs Shetty, who plays one of the boys in an anti-terrorist cell. If fellow officer Zayed Khan relishes defusing bombs, Shetty’s long legs land right on the solar plexus.

There’s no story behind her choice of profession in the film. That’s just the way she earns a living. Take it or leave it.

Though Shetty doesn’t like being called a desi Angelina Jolie, she’s preparing herself for the comparisons. Just for the record, like the Tomb Raider star, she too sports a no-nonsense braid and weapons strapped to her waist. And that delicious bat tattoo just above her tail bone couldn’t be more Joliesque, could it?

While Shetty’s lean bod is, well, very nearly the GI Jane die, what’s Aishwarya Rai doing on a litre-class bike? In Dhoom 2, Rai has traded in her trademark chiffons for catsuits a la Uma Thurman. Her feline grace matches Hrithik’s toned athleticism in their wild heists and getaways.

The actor is currently training for stunts with action director Allan Amin, the man behind the stylishly choreographed sequences in Main Hoon Na, Dus and Dhoom (parts 1 and 2) and, arguably, the best stunt director in the country. ‘‘Ash will be a big surprise. She will do stuff we’ve never seen on the Indian screen,’’ promises Amin.

For those who’re still thinking Anita Raaj in police vardi, it’s not easy being a PowerPuff girl.

Training, diet planning and stunt rehearsals—it’s a packed, exhausting schedule. In many instances, the actors have to unlearn many of the trademark moves of a Bollywood heroine. The coquettishness is abandoned in favour of a purposeful demeanour. ‘‘I don’t think the heroes are better. The rules are the same,’’ says Amin. ‘‘It’s all about how dedicated a person is. But whenever I’ve taught action to a woman, the walk is the first thing I’ve corrected. I always ask them to walk straight.’’

Shetty did her homework. “I had to look tough and so I decided to go for a body type that’s lean, with muscles,” she says.

Her martial arts-inspired introductory scene took just three hours to be finalised.

A story from the Dus set goes that Amin had his set-up all ready, when Shetty enquired which of the film’s four heroes would be doing the stunts that day. Amin replied it was her turn. ‘‘I thought he’d gone crazy and screamed. But Allan just got me packed into the costume and we got cracking,’’ says Shetty.

Her co-star Esha Deol isn’t far behind. Deol, who plays a spy in the movie, opted for kick-boxing to push her already taut, bronzed body further.

Sporting a new, short hairdo—which she thinks makes her look like her puppy—Deol loved kicking guys’ butts in the film. Sinha wanted Deol to look as vulnerable as the girl in the early ’90s George Michael video Father Figure. ‘‘He designed this lost-girl-with-a-gun look for me,’’ she says.

Also putting on keds and stretching muscles is Priyanka Chopra. In Farhan Akhtar’s 2006 interpretation of Don, Chopra plays (just like Zeenat Aman did in the original) a moll who’s as comfortable with firepower as she is serenading the impostor.

Says Chopra, ‘‘There are going to be some surprises. If you know Zeenat Aman’s role, then you know that she was a cool avenger.’’

Madhur Bhandarkar, known for his women-oriented Chandni Bar and Page 3, says, ‘‘I’d rather see women kick butt in movies than be reduced to mere props in big-budget spectacles. That said, these films are still escapist to the core. I’d rather they were more realistic.’’

It’s not just those at the top of the rung who’re into braids and rocket launchers. In debutant Shyam Bajaj’s as-yet-unnamed thriller, Sameera Reddy has more action scenes than hero Vivek Oberoi. And guess what Reddy is getting the hang of these days? River rafting and rock climbing.

In Pritish Nandy’s new production, Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena, Koena Mitra plays a psychiatrist who gets involved with a con man, played by Fardeen Khan. Mitra not only sizzles in the funky title track, but adapts to the murkier side of Khan’s life.

‘‘It has fights but is not a hard core action film. It is basically about what happens to the girl when Fardeen takes her into his world. She learns to manage and surprises him in turn,’’ says Mitra.

But exactly how will these Tomb Raider avatars fare at the BO?

Trade analyst Amod Mehra believes Bollywood will soon have its own version of Kill Bill. ‘‘Soon, girls won’t need the guys to take care of them. Though I’m a little sceptical about box office returns, you never know,’’ he says.

Less ambivalent, obviously, is Dhoom director Sanjay Gadhvi. ‘‘My eight-year-old daughter loves PowerPuff Girls and Wonder Woman. That’s proof of audience acceptance,’’ he says.

So, what next? Shilpa Shetty in a remake of The House of Flying Dragons? ‘‘Now that I know that I can do it (action), why not?’’ grins Shetty.