'I was scared while shooting': The Bhootnii director Sidhaant Sachdev on Sanjay Dutt's dangerous action sequences

Sanjay Dutt in The Bhootnii

Action comes easy to Sanjay Dutt, even in his 60s. His last few films, be it KGF: Chapter 2 (2022) or Leo (2023), are proof of that. It stands equally true for his upcoming horror comedy, The Bhootnii. Director Sidhaant Sachdev marvels that the senior actor, 65, performed the movie's five action blocks without the aid of a body double, including a dangerous fight sequence that sees him jumping off a 40-foot wall.

Sachdev recalls shooting the portion in Film City, Goregaon, over three days in February 2024. "Sanju sir was lifted to the top of the 40-foot wall with cranes and cables. The sequence required him to stand atop it alone, and jump when there is a blast behind him. We did multiple rehearsals, and used all safety precautions, including crash mats, cables and cranes. He had safety harnesses and two cables attached to him, and then he jumped as fire raged behind him. I was scared while shooting this block and was saying my prayers quietly, even as my eyes were glued to him. [Within moments of jumping], Sanju sir gave us a thumbs up and the unit broke into applause," shares the director.

Sidhaant Sachdev

He adds that during the shoot, many stunt directors turned up to meet the leading man. "Almost 50 action directors like Javed bhai [Karim] and Aejaz bhai [Gulab] dropped in on our set to meet him because they love him so much. For them, Sanju sir doing action again was a sight [to behold]."

Also starring Mouni Roy, Sunny Singh and Palak Tiwari, The Bhootnii is centred on a tree that houses an evil spirit. Dutt plays a ghostbuster roped in to rid the tree of the spirit. Even though it's a horror comedy, Sachdev says he fused action into the storytelling as it has long been Dutt's forte. Action coordinator Real Satish designed set-pieces that played to the leading man's strength. The director adds, "Real Satish knows what Sanjay Dutt's fans would want to see. I told Baba [Dutt] that we could [employ VFX] for certain sequences, but he was firm that he would do them for his fans. He reasoned that his fans go to the theatres to watch him, so he wanted to do everything by himself."