Action director reveals how ‘ KGF’ stunts look real

With popular action choreographer Peter Hein

Vikram Mor’s slick action choreography in the blockbuster ‘KGF: Chapter 1’ earned him his maiden National Award in 2019. His creativity in another magnum opus ‘Avane Srimannarayana’ (ASN) helped him retain the award earlier this year.

It took over 450 films for Vikram to realise his dream of becoming a stunt choreographer. After having done the hard yards as a fighter and assistant stunt master, Vikram is enjoying the golden phase of his career.

He is currently working for a web series bankrolled by Arka Media Works, the producers of ‘Baahubali’ films. In a free-wheeling chat with Showtime, Vikram, who has worked in over 100 films as an independent action choreographer, opened up about his mentors, his love for Jackie Chan films, Indian actors with great action skills and more. Excerpts:

KD Venkatesh, Thriller Manju and Ravi Varma are big names in the Kannada industry? What did you learn from these stunt directors?

KD Venkatesh is like my godfather. He had a systematic approach while training youngsters. From observing seniors, to landing one punch to jumping from the second floor, I learnt the tricks of the trade step by step. Ravi Varma introduced new styles in fights. I was impressed by his punctuality and discipline. Thriller Manju is a great role model. I loved how he grew from a stunt master to a filmmaker.

What according to you led to evolution of action in Kannada cinema?

It was a practice to get fight masters from Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh. Shankar Nag and Prabhakar showed great interest in fights. They emphasised on having an action choreographer from Karnataka. That was the turning point.

Growing up, how did world cinema influence your love for action?

I was addicted to the action scenes in ‘Snake And Eagle’s Shadow’ (1978). The Jackie Chan film was directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, who was a famous stunt master. When an action choreographer directs a film, the plot is designed like a huge fight. I feel my style is influenced by him. Later on, I loved Jackie Chan films like ‘Operation Condor’ (1991), ‘Project A’ (1983) and ‘Rumble In The Brunx’ (1995). Of course, like everybody else, I enjoyed watching ‘Matrix’ (1999), ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ (2004) and ‘Shaolin Soccer’ (2001).

Tell us about the discussions that went behind filming action sequences of ‘KGF: Chapter 1’.

Director Prashanth Neel was particular about fight scenes having no rhythm. I liked that approach. We wanted to break the smooth movement in fights. So be it in the gimmy or trolley movements, we didn’t want to show smooth falling of people. A fight is nothing but cheating your audience. The hero doesn’t actually hit the villain but it should appear like he has. So if you use technique like handheld camera movements, it feels more real on screen. That’s what we did in ‘KGF’.

In ‘ASN’, the hero is a quirky person. How did you bring in comedy elements in action?

I focused on the mannerisms and behaviour of the character. In the famous fight scene in a pub, we made use of properties very well. Chairs, tables, meat balls, plates and forks, all of these were incorporated in the sequence funnily.

How safe is action choreography in films today?

Earlier, we stunt masters would feel like they were going to a war. Today, things have changed. Earlier, there were beds and trampolines. The falling would be captured from a low angle. On screen, it would appear dangerous. Then ropes were used. The process is definitely safer now. In those days, only uneducated young men, with expertise in karate, would become fighters. Today, educated men are showing interest.

Tell us about the passion for action in Kannada stars you have worked with.

Yash is highly flexible. He can do whatever the stuntman shows because he is a trained artiste. Upendra is highly enthusiastic and that motivates you. Shivarajkumar’s energy is infectious. During fights, he never goes to the caravan. He is always near the monitor, egging the choreographer. Though I haven’t worked with them, I also like Kamal Haasan and Chiranjeevi. Kamal’s fight scenes have comic touch while Chiranjeevi’s action scenes have grandeur all over them.