Location Diaries: Panic on the sets

This weekly column details the fascinating encounters that often take place on the sets of a film and this week it is actor Krishna sharing his expriences while shooting for Kalari
Location Diaries: Panic on the sets

Krishna plays a character suffering from agoraphobia, a fear of situations that may cause panic, in his upcoming film, Kalari. Although his character shies away from fighting in the film, he is still part of several action sequences. And one of them, turned painfully real.

The said incident happened during shooting in Kochi. The shoot was happening inside a van with several actors inside, along with the camera team and director. With so many people, the space was pretty cramped. The scene demanded that Krishna be slapped by another character, played by a new actor. “He was supposed to slap me and then punch me. It was a simple shot. He rehearsed it for a bit and then we went for the take,” says Krishna.

But since this was the first big role for the other actor, he was a bit nervous about hitting Krishna. As the camera rolled, he managed to give a fake slap to Krishna in the manner he was instructed. “After the slap, I was supposed to turn away, and then turn back at him, at which point he was to punch my face. But in his anxiety to get it right, he missed the timing. Stunts are all about timing; otherwise one can get hit real time. And that’s what happened to me,” recalls Krishna.

When he turned, Krishna got a forceful punch on his face, which barely missed his eye. He reeled. “But I quickly gathered my wits and continued with the shot. However, my co-actor who had punched me, shouted, ‘Aiyo’, and so, we had to stop. I was dismayed because I wanted to get the shot over with. My co-star was nearly in tears at having injured me.”

Everyone on the sets was flustered. “My face was red, swollen and completely numb for several mintues. It was only after the shock wore down that the searing pain hit me. The director insisted that I take rest but I didn’t want to hold up the shoot and was back after a brief respite," he says.

His nervous co-star took 11 takes before he got the shot right. He admitted to Krishna that he hadn’t taken any prior stunt-training classes like most actors do. “When I heard this, I joked that he had now picked up a lesson at my cost!"

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