Location Diaries: On thin ice, literally

This weekly column details the fascinating encounters that often take place on the sets of a film and this week it is Sollividava
Location Diaries: On thin ice, literally

Aishwarya Arjun was excited when she set off for the the Swiss schedule of Sollividava. The breathtaking mountain resorts of Switzerland were just breathtaking. But when she had to dance to the title song with hero Chandan on the snow capped peaks, reality set it. Clad in a sari, with no winter gear for protection from the ice cold winds, instead of wearing shoes, Aishwarya chose to dance barefeet in the snow. “I am a dancer, and so I don’t like wearing footwear when dancing, especially in a sari. But when it got unbearably cold, I wore 3 pairs of thick socks to protect my feet,” she says.

The director, her father, Action King Arjun, was shooting the song at high speed. “This meant that we had to dance at double the normal pace, to faster beats. The ice surface was extremely slippery. So I had to be extremely careful to maintain my balance, while dancing fast and lip synching to the lyrics.” She somehow got through the shoot thanks to gulping hot soup between shots.

Apart from the biting cold, the high altitude also exposed them to harsh sunlight. As a result, Aishwarya started getting sun burnt and tanned. Her skin also started peeling off. “It was quite scary and a little painful. I had to somehow keep the my skin hydrated." They were near a town known for the healing powers of its hot springs, so she applied the water from there, which made her feel better. "My make-up artist also helped out by putting honey on the peeling skin. Shooting for 10 days like that was a whole new experience for me,” she adds.

From mountain tops, the unit headed to a gushing waterfall next. “The water was falling with such force that we got fully drenched. The stone surface was dangerously slippery. It was quite a challenge to keep my balance. Were I not shooting there as an actor, I don’t think I could have ever gotten so close to such a huge waterfall and had such an experience!”

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