On location

It's a rare and refreshing sight to watch a thoroughly professional film maker at work. He adjusts his lights in a flash -- obviously the...

It8217;s a rare and refreshing sight to watch a thoroughly professional film maker at work. He adjusts his lights in a flash 8212; obviously the work of a practised eye 8212; and in no time at all, the multis, babies, nets and butter-papers8217; are in place. That done, he fine tunes his camera focus for the shot and his final quot;okayquot; has a ring of definite satisfaction. Then he turns to his stuntman who has fake blood dripping from his mouth and asks, quot;Are you ready? Be careful, there8217;ll be a knife at your throat.quot; Hero Ajay Devgan is summoned, and after one rehearsal, he struggles with the bad man, pushes him out of the frame, turns and looks straight into the lens, all in perfect order. quot;Excellent,quot; says Govind Nihalani, and immediately starts manoeuvering his troops around a maze of wooden planks on the air-conditioned floor at Film City.

quot;This is supposed to be the underside of a stage,quot; says Nihalani talking about a key fight sequence in Takshak which is nearing completion. quot;There8217;s a pop concert in progress 8211;Nethra Raghuraman is the performer 8212; when Ajay notices the person he8217;s looking for. There8217;s another man who lures him through the back door and they end up here.quot; The entire drama unfolds against the music that8217;s still playing upstairs.

Before the next shot Ajay asks his director, quot;Is there gun fire here?quot; quot;No,quot; says Nihalani pointing to the stuntman, quot;It8217;s from his point of view. Let him cover you and then move away 8212; it8217;s a very long shot.quot; This one needs three takes. quot;Last two okay,quot; Nihalani tells his assistant.

In a jiffy, they8217;re ready for another complicated take 8212; this time the director requires two cameras. While he8217;s in charge behind one of them, he addresses the other cameraman who8217;s sprawled on the floor next to a huge mattress which is meant to cover a bad fall. quot;You go down. Ajay will throw him off and he8217;ll fall on the camera. You have to focus on Ajay,quot; he instructs.

Ajay quickly absorbs his movements. quot;He goes down, I look and then exit, right?quot; he asks. Once again the star8217;smovements match the director8217;s specifications 8212; just as he8217;s trying to fend off his adversary, a bullet flies past his ear, rips through the plank behind him and the same split second, Ajay throws the man on the mattress.

Nihalani, who8217;s making his first film with frontline commercial stars 8212; Tabu is the female lead, while A R Rahman has scored the music 8212; says there8217;s no room for mindless action in his film. quot;I have just three fights and even there you won8217;t see too much of physical violence. All three are intense sequences, but none of them is extended beyond the necessary requirements 8212; all of them are integral to the plot,quot; he says.

8212; DEEPA DEOSTHALEE