EXCLUSIVE: Dhurandhar's action director Aejaz Gulab reveals he was Pooja Bhatt's stunt double in DELETED fire scene in Zakhm; adds, "I was also Aamir Khan's body double in the cliff scene in Baazi; we used dhoti as a harness, covered nylon rope with grass"

Dhurandhar (2025) and the recently released Dhurandhar The Revenge have generated unprecedented craze. Every department in the film has won praise, and the action is no exception. While a section of viewers had reservations about the gore, the action has largely been appreciated for being both cinematic and realistic, a hallmark of veteran action director Aejaz Gulab’s work. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, he spoke about the film’s action and also about his journey of more than 37 years.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Dhurandhar's action director Aejaz Gulab reveals he was Pooja Bhatt's stunt double in DELETED fire scene in Zakhm; adds, "I was also Aamir Khan's body double in the cliff scene in Baazi; we used dhoti as a harness, covered nylon rope with grass"

 

Aejaz Gulab said, “I assisted action director Hanif Abbas from 1992 to 2006. Earlier, I assisted my father, Gulab Rao, from 1989 to 1992. Those days, hum sahi maayno mein stunts karte the. Today, it’s safer, though even now, it’s still risky for the stuntman.”

 

He then opened up his risky stunt, “Those days, there were no wires. In Baazi (1995), I was Aamir Khan’s body double in the scene where he’s about to fall from the cliff and gets stuck. There was no harness either. It was shot at Kate's Point, Mahabaleshwar. That place was not as developed as it is today. I remember it was decided overnight that ‘iss character ko giraate hai aur cliff pe latka dete hai’. The action director was Hanif bhai. He came up with the idea that we’ll tie a dhoti and use it as a harness! We arranged for a nylon rope and we covered it with grass so that it is not be visible in the camera. That’s how he managed to pull it off.”

 

He continued, “I was very young then and was quite enthusiastic to pull off dangerous stunts. This made me feel that if I were offered a challenge, I must accept it. Abbas bhai gave me many such opportunities. In Chor Machaye Shor (2002), my partner Javed and I jumped off from the 15th floor. I was Bobby Deol’s body double while Javed was the body double for Razzak Khan.”

 

 

Aejaz Gulab has been the stunt double for actresses as well. He said, “I was Pooja Bhatt’s body double for a scene in Zakhm (1998). However, that scene was edited out by the Censors. I was told later by the unit that there was a fire 4 feet above my head. So, from body fire shots to jumping off from buildings to jumping off from a helicopter in Dastak (1996), I have done it all, that too without a harness. Harness became common in our industry after the year 2000. Yet, it was not easy to do CGI and wire clean-up. Then, makers used to send shots to foreign post-production studios to remove cables and harnesses. I guess after 2007-08, CG work became more common.”

 

Aejaz Gulab further added, “In 2006, I turned action director. My first film was Shootout At Lokhandwala (2007). That film helped me win my first award at IIFA. It made my journey even better! I also worked in Rakht Charitra (2010). Ram Gopal Varma made that film and he remarked that my directorial sense is good. Hence, he asked me to direct Ab Tak Chhappan 2 (2015).”

 

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Dhurandhar The Revenge action director Aejaz Gulab confesses: “I saw ladies shutting their eyes in violent scenes”; decodes lengthy yet gripping climax: “Aditya Dhar knew audience would get bored in one location… shifted locations to keep them hooked”

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