Telugu superstar Prabhas has been filming the ambitious tri-lingual feature "Saaho" in the UAE capital for the last three weeks, according to Gulf News.
The tall actor, who plays a swashbuckling hero in the epic fantasy blockbuster "Baahubali", tells journalists in Abu Dhabi, "'Saaho' is a high-paced action thriller with a bit of drama in it. They (TwoFour54, the media company that facilitated the shoot) stopped the traffic, gave us the best roads and the best buildings. We will come back again."
Around 250 crew members have been hard at work in Abu Dhabi for more than a month to capture a string of gravity-defying stunts led by Hollywood stunt director Kenny Bates.
"Kenny always had a plan. Two years back, they came here for recce (pre-filming visit to check out the suitability of a region) as he knew it is not easy to get the bridges, roads, infrastructure to do those stunts. He wanted to do everything live. In 'Saaho', 90 per cent of the stunts is real. He wanted to do everything live," said Prabhas.
His typical day in Abu Dhabi at work involved watching cars and trucks burn and explode in adrenalin-charged action set sequences. Expect a fleet of dazzling souped-up cars and chases that will propel you to suspend believability in "Saaho", which is expected to release sometime next year.
"We crashed 28 cars and five trucks … It was amazing to watch because he wanted everything real, not CG. 'Saaho' was shot in a real manner and it’s something new in a long time … I even rode a bike super fast," said Prabhas excitedly. The actor has taken several gambles in his career including setting aside several years of his life for director SS Rajamouli’s epic film "Baahubali".
"'Baahubali' is a once-in-a-lifetime experience … There is pressure because suddenly you are no longer popular in just one state, but the whole country. Even in Japan, 'Baahubali' was a bit hit … So every day we are just trying our best and we are trying to pull off one of the biggest action sequences the world has ever seen."
Prabhas, who is known for his muscular build, sports a leaner look in "Saaho". The actor said that he embarked on a fitness regime and diet that included a lot of cardio-intensive workouts and eliminated carbohydrates from his food.
"For 'Baahubali', I gained eight or nine kilos for the warrior look. But for 'Saaho', I didn’t need to look like that," said Prabhas.
Directed by Sujeeth, "Saaho" is a tri-lingual feature that is being simultaneously filmed in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. Prabhas, who knows how to read and write Hindi, found the Bollywood portions challenging. In his signature self-effacing style, Prabhas tells us that his accent had to be polished to make his Hindi-speaking skills look natural.
"We have the South Indian slang. It’s a big problem, but I got help,” said Prabhas, who added that it was tiring to film the same scene in three languages at the same time.
While speaking Hindi was an uphill task, Prabhas took solace in the collective fabulousness of his Bollywood colleagues who play pivotal roles in "Saaho". Shraddha Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Jackie Shroff are a part of the action-filled drama.
"All the characters in this film have an important role to play. The story is bigger than any of us and we are connected in different ways. Each character doesn’t just come and go, because everyone has memorable parts to play. For instance, Shraddha doesn’t just come for a song, she plays an important character. She’s one of the biggest assets and the story is narrated from her point of view," said Prabhas.
After making his debut in 2002, Prabhas has become one of the biggest cultural exports of the Telugu film industry. But the actor is still keen on taking risks and isn’t averse to reinvent his larger-than-life silver-screen persona.
"It’s not just macho roles. I am going to start filming a pure love story that is likely to be shot in Europe. … After 'Baabhubali', I know it is not easy to make people sit up and watch us … But with 'Saaho' we are trying something new."
Prabhas, who counts Bollywood films "Sholay" and Salman Khan’s "Dabang" as his all-time favourites when it comes to action and drama, believes that the script is the biggest hero in a project.
"My next film which is a love story is an example of how the script is the ultimate hero. It’s not me or the other characters, but the story that makes people love a film and remember them."
While he has figured a few things out about the world of movies, Prabhas claims he is not big on giving advice to youngsters on how to crack the entertainment industry.
"Baahubali was a film that was never done before. Rajamouli sir was my biggest inspiration because he lives in the smallest house and drives the smallest cars, but he makes the biggest films ever. He taught me the art of analysing your own strengths and I take inspiration from him. He’s an example of someone who develops an idea and perfects it into its best version."
His "Baahubali" director also taught him life-lesson that he would remain in his hearts forever. Noble intentions are worth its weight in gold.
"We made 'Baahubali' with pure intentions. It taught us that we might be remembered for the rest of our lives if we do something with good intentions in our hearts … Right now, I am the happiest man on earth.”
&uuid=(email))