'Sudeep trained like never before for Pailwaan'

With wrestling and boxing as the background, director S Krishna has made sure that Pailwaan, starring Sudeep, will mesmerise the audience with its action choreography. The Pailwaan hero has immersed himself into all facets of a fighter’s life. And for this sports drama, director Krishna too has gone an extra mile to bring an authenticity to the action sequences.

To help them achieve this, the makers brought on board ace stunt choreographers — Ram-Lakshman, Ravi Varma, and Vijay. They also roped in international stunt co-ordinator Larnell Stovall for choreographing the boxing sequences. Stovall is known for his breathtaking work in Hollywood films such as Captain America and The Hunger Games. 

“In fact, the team took 54 days to just shoot the action sequences. A lot of detailing has gone into filming the boxing sequences, which alone took 38 days of the total schedule. Stovall had a pre-visualisation, a storyboard for the boxing sequences, which was recreated on the sets. Likewise a lot of homework has gone into every action sequence of Pailwaan,” says Krishna, adding, “Vijay, who previously worked with us in Hebbuli, has done the wrestling episode, which took 14 days, and so was the case with other action sequences created by Ram-Lakshman and Ravi Varma too.” 

The three-film-old director is keen on the action being a highlight of his film. “The action sequences in my first film, Gajakesari, starring Yash, were appreciated. For Hebbuli, we designed it in a stylish way. With Pailwaan, we have tried to go with mass fight sequences,” he says.

Krishna tells us that Pailwaan put Sudeep into many challenging situations. “The actor went through a lot of rigorous training like never before. He learnt boxing, wrestling, got injured, and had sore shoulders. We even had to cancel the shooting at one time. With all his painstaking efforts, Pailwaan is sure to have breathtaking action,” says the director.

The film has been made under RRR Motion Pictures. Pailwaan, which stars Akanksha Singh as the female lead and Suniel Shetty in a pivotal role, will get a worldwide release in five languages on September 12.