Location Diaries: Narrow Escape 

Narain faced some unusual complications as he shot for Karthi's Kaithi. Due to one hand being incapacitated by a sling, running down a steep slope during a scene, for example, proved difficult. "It was dangerous, and took every ounce of concentration, as I couldn't balance myself properly while running downhill. As it was my first time doing stunts with a sling, it took a lot of skill and judgement to tackle the kicks, fisticuffs and falls in the chase and fight sequences," says Narain.

During one shot, things took a turn for the worse. Director Lokesh Kangaraj told him that he had to run out of a verandah, past a swimming pool, and keep running, halting only at a designated spot at a distance. A camera team with a steady cam was to run behind him. On the way,  he would have to pretend to slip once, sway a little, and then keep running, one hand in a sling all the while.

"But as I ran past the pool, suddenly I tripped on a slippery patch of water on the concrete. With one hand in a sling, I couldn't balance myself to stop the fall and fell down flat, my shoulder and chest taking the brunt of the fall. It happened so fast, I was in shock," says Narain.

But the next minute, he somehow got to his feet and continued running so as to not disrupt the shoot. "I could hear the camera team following me, whispering amongst themselves in shock, because, seeing that hard fall, they hadn't expected me to get up and continue running. But somehow I completed the shot before the pain hit me. Luckily my face was not injured and no bones were broken. I felt I'd had a narrow escape, since it was hard concrete around the pool."

But all through the shoot of Kaithi, Narain had a nagging pain in his shoulder. "I couldn't sit nor sleep properly and it took four months to heal completely. It was a unique shoot for me indeed!"