“The aim is to plan the shoot and shoot the plan” – Tom Struthers

By Philip Bode -

July 25, 2013 - 12:41 PM IST

More often than not this segment of filmmaking is exercised to augment the high-octane vigourness of a film systematically. With narratives that revolve around characters pitted against incredulous odds, in hazardous situations or even sinister villains out to capture and destroy the frail and wretched. These are the quintessential ingredients that make up an action movie. But in order to augment the energetic visuals to life, an action director is roped in to bring about the director's vision and battle sequences to the fore. To choreograph the specialized action sequences in Nikhil Advani's D-Day, Tom Struthers a renowned stunt coordinator from Hollywood an expert who has worked on over a hundred films which include, The Dark Knight Rises, X-Men: First Class, Inception, amongst an abundance of well known films - was roped in to bring the action sequences to life in the film. Bollywood Hungama's Philip Bode gets Tom Struthers the Hollywood action maverick to talk about collaborating with Indian cinema, training the cast of the film and always being nervous with a films release.

Nikhil approached Tom to direct the action for D-Day, talking about his decision on jump aboard and the stunts designed Tom says, "I felt that Nikhil had great passion and a vision to match the script, so the choice to jump on board was easy. Nikhil wanted the action to be real, gritty and not action for action's sake; we designed stunts that would enhance the narrative of the film. I think a good example of this would be the chase and fight sequence through the city, ending in the mosque. It carried the fear and the tension that is needed to convey the physical drama of a film, our aim was to make the action 'real'. It is integral and a part of the story, it isn't heightened action and the 'good guys' are not always expected to win."

“The aim is to plan the shoot and shoot the plan” – Tom Struthers

It is extremely crucial to understand the action aspect during the pre-production phase of a film, talking about the groundwork for D-Day, Tom says, "I set about breaking down the script after I was approached with the project in January 2012. Over the next six months, Nikhil and I went through and discussed the entire action for the film, for which we completed it in October last year. The planning process of the action phase took approximately six months to organise, for which rehearsals of the action took another six weeks as well."

With a myriad of Hollywood projects already under his belt, a Bollywood film would seem like another cultural practice for the action director, talking about the difference with working on American and Indian films he says, "It is a new experience for me, in terms of the cultural surroundings and I have to say I loved it. Otherwise, in terms of preparing, rehearsing and shooting the film it was pretty much the same process as any other Hollywood project goes. The budgets may vary and the way of going about things will change from place to place, but the overall process still remains the same. The script is broken down, the action identified and the way of achieving the action safely is decided. Rehearsals are followed and then the aim is to plan the shoot and shoot the plan. When filming, time is money and safety is paramount, so good planning and communication is vital to the success of any project."

In order to bring the authenticity of action in the film on screen, it was imperative for the cast to undergo vigorous training to fit their parts seamlessly. Talking about training with the principal cast and action sequences in Bollywood films Tom says, "The cast underwent a physical training program which made them get into the desired physical shape. Later on we introduced weapons and fight training, before moving on to specific choreography for the action, the locations shot at were one of the main challenges in executing the action for the film, as it posed some restrictions. I think there is some great action in Bollywood films, I watched Akshay Kumar's Rowdy Rathore recently and though the action was terrific. It is more heightened than the usual action I'm asked to create, the entertainment value, ideas, choreography and rigging are first class."

With Nikhil Advani's D-Day all set to hit theatres next week, Tom shed's light on the build up to the big day he says, "I'm always nervous when a film I have worked on is being released. So many people put so much effort and time into making a film - all working towards the same objective, to make a good product that will both interest and entertain people all over the world is the joint goal of all of us." Tom doesn't deny about foraying into more Bollywood related work after D-Day Tom says, "I have been approached about some projects and look forward to possibly being back in India in the near future."