Location Diaries: The Fear Fighter

This weekly column details the fascinating encounters that often take place on the sets of a film and this week, Sunainaa talks about her experience shooting for Regina
Location Diaries: The Fear Fighter

When shooting for director Domin D Silva's film, Regina, actor Sunainaa was part of a variety of action sequences. For some of them, she had to get over many of her longstanding fears.

Recounting a terrifying experience that brought out her fear of heights, Sunainaa says, "For one car chase sequence in Kerala, we arrived at a tall, rocky mountain peak that looked almost vertical. Because of this, only specially equipped jeeps and trained drivers were allowed to drive up the mountain, that too at a very measured pace. Director Domin asked me to sit in the passenger seat of an open jeep and instructed the driver to go as fast as he could but the driver drove slowly up the mountain, following the safety rules." But the slow pace did not help her, as the actor says, "All through the journey, I was extremely nervous since I'm terrified of heights. People below looked like tiny specks from far away, as the jeep inched up the rocky surface bit by bit. Though I was clenching my jaw in fear, I couldn't show any fearful expressions on camera. It was one of the most terrifying rides I've been on," 

For another stunt sequence shot near Pollachi, Sunainaa saw the stunt team practicing a high-speed drift, and car chase on a huge open ground. "I thought a dummy of me would be placed in the car. So imagine my surprise when I was told to actually sit in the passenger seat. I got tense and stepped out of the car for a few minutes to compose myself." 

As the hi-octane chase progressed, Sunainaa noticed the superb precision with which the cars coordinated with each other at high speeds. "Cameras were mounted in front, on the side and inside our car. A camera vehicle travelled beside us as well. Director Domin planned everything well. Every car in the chase had an assistant director in the back seat. The drivers had walkie-talkies and were in total sync with each other, which helped complete the dangerous stunt smoothly." 

Though director Domin believed in spontaneity, he also kept her safety in mind. "In all the spins, jumps, and speeding car chases, Domin liked to capture my raw reactions on camera. However, if things got too risky, he would immediately stop the shoot."

Apart from her fear of heights, Sunainaa had to also get over her dislike for guns and firecrackers during the Regina shoot. "Handling guns for the several shooting scenes in Regina, took a lot of getting used to, as I dislike guns. But slowly I got over my inhibitions during the training period, where I learnt how to shoot a variety of dummy guns, without flinching and with a steady hand. I also had to get used to the deafening sounds of firecrackers that were used to create gunshot sounds." It was taxing for the actor when she had to go for a retake when the dummy guns didn't fire. "I would flinch at the cracker sounds nearby each time, but there are so many gunfight scenes in the film that I just learnt to get used to it. Now, I'm ready to even film shooting scenes for any other film."

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