Want to know who is the latest stunt guru in town? Well, it’s our very own khiladi Akshay Kumar! At a time when most heroes are spending their time perfecting their stunt moves, this hero has started to dole out free advice to his heroines on how to do a stunt properly — irrespective of whether or not he is starring in the film.
And actress Lara Dutta got a dose of this recently. Says a source, “There was a stunt sequence in the film Chalo Dilli where Lara had to get inside a moving train. Now this was a sequence that required her face to be seen by the audience and hence the use of a body double was ruled out. The director, Shashant Shah, clearly told Lara that the scene has to be done by her because of this technicality,” says a source.
It was then that Lara decided to call up Akki, with whom she has previously worked in Housefull for some tips. According to sources, the first thing that Akshay did was to calm down Lara because she was very anxious that the stunt may go wrong.
“Lara and Akshay had a good 20 minute chat and Akshay decided to explain the scene step-by-step and told her about the kind of safety measures that she should adopt for the scene. However, Lara felt that she needed to prepare more for the shot and not do it immediately,” says a source.
Also, the main reason behind Akshay helping Lara outwas apparently because the film is also her first home production and she wanted to get everything right.
Apparently, Lara went back to Akshay to get some more tips and then returned on the sets to request that she be allowed a few practice shots and a couple of re-takes before she went in for the final shot.
“Akshay also gave a Lara a to-do list and a check-list that he told her to follow before she attempted the stunt. Lara was seen reading the piece of paper and ticking the check-boxes in her mind before attempting the stunt,” the source adds.
However, thanks to all the coaching, the scene was completed without a hitch! “Lara enacted the scene perfectly and the director was very happy with the result. Of course, he didn’t get the opportunity to thank Akshay at that point for the help but he sent a text message thanking him the very next day,” the source concludes.
