Director Nitesh Tiwari, who was in Ludhiana for the shooting of his upcoming film, speaks on making Dangal based on wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and working with Aamir Khan.
How easy or difficult was it to get Aamir Khan to do this role?
He said, ‘I want to do this but I don’t know when I would be able to do it.’ He asked us if we were willing to wait for him. So we said that if he was keen to do it, we would. This was around the time when Dhoom 3 had released and he was busy with PK. We waited for him for more than a year.
Considering the film’s main character is based in Haryana, why choose Punjab for the shoot?
It was a creative call. Filmmaking requires a perfect balance of creativity and finances. We got production-friendly locations in Ludhiana. We really liked a lot of locations in Haryana too but they were all scattered. Six villages — Kila Raipur, Dango, Gujjarwal, Narangwal, Jassowal and Leel — around Ludhiana were a perfect fit. We have made them look like one village. The more we thank people of Punjab, the less it would be. They were patient during shoots and fed us food all the time. They celebrated festivals with us and children had kite flying competitions with Aamir on the occasion of Lohri. (Read: Aamir Khan in Delhi for Dangal, meets wrestler Sushil Kumar)
Did the actors, including Aamir, have to learn to speak Haryanvi?
There were two language coaches who started training before shooting began. One coach was on the sets to hear every single dialogue and if pronunciation was wrong, we would go for a retake.
Aamir had to deal with injuries during the shooting.
Before we began shooting, we met a lot of wrestling coaches. We got the best coach – Kripashankar Vishnoi – to train Aamir and the girls. One thing which Mahavir Phogat also said to us was that, “Chot to pehelwaan ka gehna hoti hai” (injury is like jewellery in the life of a wrestler). All actors went through lot of injuries but fortunately nothing serious. Vishnoi, who has been with us for the last eight months, keeps track of everything technical. He has to make sure that grips and moves are technically correct on screen. (Also read: Aamir Khan’s Dangal to feature real life international boxers)
What were the memorable incidents on the sets?
Aamir is perpetually worried about how he is going to lose weight now. So every time he saw his own image, he said, “Baap re, main toh Gabbar lag raha hun” (Oh no, I am looking like Gabbar). He was very happy and munching on everything that came his way.
You have worked with Amitabh Bachchan earlier in Bhoothnath Returns and now with Aamir Khan. What is the difference between working with two of these interesting yet very different superstars?
I have been very lucky. It will be unfair to compare both. Both of them come extremely prepared on sets, are very hardworking and most importantly they are not easily satisfied. Mr Bachchan has a child-like energy and enthusiasm and so does Aamir. They will discuss with you, give their point of view but in the end final call is that of the director.
