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‘Seeru’ Jiiva does a dishyum on Navdeep

Actors Jiiva and Navdeep were filming the climax fight sequence for their upcoming film ‘Seeru’ directed by Rathina Siva

May 25, 2019 03:39 pm | Updated 03:41 pm IST

Pradeep Kumar
Pradeep Kumar
Jiiva smashes Navdeep during the filming of ‘Seeru’

Jiiva smashes Navdeep during the filming of ‘Seeru’

Dishyum — is it a word? Or, is it the sound you make when you land a punch on another person? Either way, it is something actor Jiiva is all too familiar with.

On a sultry weekday, we track him down, in a shady, abandoned factory — the kind of space that is an automatic stand-in for Binny Mills — in Ambattur Industrial Estate.

Once there, we are startled to see Jiiva emerge, with blood dripping from a cut on his face. He waves a hand indicating all is fine. But we had to check what was going on.

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We enter the asbestos-roofed pressure cooker of a place (you’d hardly last five minutes inside without gasping for clean air), and walk right into a cloud of frankincense. When the smoke settles, what look like arc lights appear in the horizon.

In the distance, we spot a man waving at us to come closer. As we approach him, we realise it is Rathina Siva, and that we are on the sets of his film Seeru .

Kicks and jabs

“We’re shooting the climax sequence,” says Siva, adding that it will take nine days of filming to complete the visuals.

Produced by Vels Film International, Seeru is Siva’s second film after Rekka .

“ Seeru ’s core concept is friendship,” adds Siva, before he receives a video call from his five-year-old daughter. She demands to know whether he is buying her the gift he’d promised.

“It’s tough when you’ve to work during the month of May. The kids are at home, and I’ve not been able to take them on a vacation,” he says, before excusing himself.

Right then, a gruff voice yells “Aaannndd.... action!” into a microphone.

It belongs to stunt choreographer Ganesh. The “master” greets us with a warm smile. “We just completed the rope (harness) sequence. Hero already 15 pera dwamsam pantaaru , ippo villain oda fight (The hero has already destroyed 15 stuntmen, now the fight is with the villain),” he remarks.

Ganesh, who started out as a stuntman in the 1990s, choreographed the stunts for Ajith’s Vivegam . He yells at his men to get their positions right.

“The stuntmen will rehearse the sequences first, and after the ‘master’ approves it, they will demonstrate it to the artistes,” says Sathishraja, one of the assistant directors whom Siva has deputed to guide us through the setup.

Jiiva re-enters the set. A touch-up person trails him; his job is to ensure there is just enough blood on the hero’s face at all times, for the sake of continuity.

Ganesh explains the sequence to Jiiva, then rushes back to the preview monitor.

But wait! Where’s the antagonist? “There he is,” says Sathishraja, and we see a fully-bearded and well-muscled Navdeep, sporting long hair.

Remember Navdeep? That clean shaven boy with an attractive face, and pale brown eyes, from Arinthum Ariyamalum (2005). “Oh, it has been what? 13...14 years?” laughs Navdeep, when we ask him what happened. “People forget how long ago that was,” he adds.

For a villain, who is about to get beaten to a pulp by the hero, he is dressed rather casually, in cargos with a black tee and jacket. “Pretty cool, no?” says Navdeep, before heading to his shot.

No easy task

“They’re about to break a glass,” says Sathishraja. Ganesh yells action. Jiiva grabs Navdeep by his neck and smashes the back of his head on the glass portion of a door.

Dishyum ... the glass fails to break! Jiiva breaks into an impromptu jig, “ Odayalaye ... Odayalaye ! (It didn’t break).” Ganesh runs out to the artistes, and explains that they must hit a mark at the centre of the glass for it to break on its own.

Immediately, the crew are back in position for the second take. “Aaaannndd... action!”

Jiiva grabs Navdeep, and smashes his head onto the glass hard, and bang! The glass doesn’t break. This time Jiiva does a Nambiar impersonation at the glass, rubbing his hands together. We’re sure these will make the bloopers reel.

The crew calls for a short break to examine the glass, giving us time to strike up a conversation with Jiiva. “What a horrible time to shoot, huh! We’re so lucky we get to work during the kathiri heat,” the actor remarks with a cheeky grin, adding that Seeru is likely to release by August.

The artistes are called back for the shot. Navdeep is grabbed by his neck once again, and the actors go at the glass full steam yelling...“Aaaaaarrrr!” Bam. The glass partially cracks.

And that’s that. Navdeep has taken enough blows to the head. Now, he will take a few blows to his abdomen!

“You have to be trained in stunts. Otherwise, it will be hard to shoot action sequences,” says Jiiva, adding that the five years he spent training Kung fu comes handy. “ Ellame kathukitaachu . Pazhaya ticket- unga naan (Which literally translated means, ‘I’ve learnt it all. I’m an old cookie’),” the actor says, before going back in to land a few more dishyums !

Related Topics

SundayLite / The Hindu MetroPlus / The Hindu Cinema Plus / cinema / Indian cinema / Tamil cinema / Tamil Nadu / celebrity / Chennai

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