CHENNAI: Actor Bhavya Trikha, who will next be seen in director Balaji Madhavan’s Idi Minnal Kadhal, reveals that it was one of the most interesting shooting experiences she had.
“I loved the fact that I got to do so many action scenes. I also made several friends. The entire team was so professional, they made me feel very comfortable. So, every day, I just felt happy to be working with them,” says Bhavya.
The actor recounts filming an important scene near the War Memorial in Chennai, in the middle of the night. “It took a long time to shoot there due to technical reasons. Ciby and I had to drive in a car from the bridge to the memorial. The weather was good and it was really quiet outside. Even though it actually felt like a relaxing, long drive, we shared stories about our school days and our favourite films between takes.”
To encourage camaraderie and understanding between the actors, director Balaji Madhavan had arranged a workshop before the actual shooting began. “It was full of mind games, creativity and confidence-boosting activities that encouraged interaction and trust between us. It helped to break the ice and made it easier to express ourselves to each other on sets.”
Bhavya had to film a lot of scenes with Jagan and Ciby. “Actually, Jagan conducted the workshop. He was quite strict with us, which made me a bit nervous during the shoot. However, after a while, I realised he was a lot of fun and had just been conducting the classes professionally. Ciby was very helpful and we became good friends. That friendship helped us while shooting as we could discuss our scenes freely without feeling hesitation or awkwardness.”
For a stunt scene in a garage, a few stuntmen had to hold Bhavya in their grip. “They were initially very hesitant because they didn’t want to hurt me. But I told them to do it as realistically as possible because that was the only way I could express the pain and fear convincingly. But surprisingly enough, they were such professionals that the shoot went through smoothly.”
In another fight sequence, some stuntmen had to bang Bhavya’s head on a car window and she had to react. When they did so, a loud cracking sound came. “Everyone panicked and the shoot stopped. The director thought I was hurt. Actually, the cracking sound had come when a ring on my finger hit the car where I had put my hands for support. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when they confirmed that I was not hurt.”
Despite all having a tough time shooting the stunt sequences, Bhavya is still hungry for more.
“I’m glad that I got to do stunts in Idi Minnal Kadhal, and I’m hoping I can do more action scenes in upcoming films.”
Location diaries
This weekly column details the fascinating encounters that often take place on the sets of a film