From sword wielding to brandishing an AK-47: How Hrithik Roshan became a weapons expert for Vikram Vedha

The highly awaited Vikram Vedha is counting down the days until it hits the big screen this month. The upcoming Pushkar-Gayatri directorial have gotten fans excited for a number of reasons, one of them definitely being the exciting face off between Saif Ali Khan’s Vikram and Hrithik Roshan’s Vedha. And it seems that Hrithik is leaving no stone unturned to give fans a roller coaster ride of thrill. The actor reportedly had to undergo rigorous weaponry training to really get into the skin of Vedha.

According to a report in Mid Day, the directors wanted the remake to be as gritty as possible. The film’s action director Parvez Shaikh had to work with Hrithik closely for the film’s stunts, in particular two complicated action sequences. The film involved sequences involving a number of gang wars and gun fights, all of which ultimately culminated in a final face off between Saif and Hrithik’s characters.

A large portion of the action sequences were shot at the Khalifa Industrial Zone in Abu Dhabi, and the sets were made to resemble the streets of Lucknow and Kanpur. One scene involved Hrithik’s Vedha wielding a sword. Sword wielding had come naturally to the actor, as he had trained in the same while filming for Jodhaa Akbar (2008).

The scenes which involved Hrithik having to handle a rifle and pistol were much trickier, a source told the portal. For two of the set pieces, Hrithik had to undergo training for almost three weeks. He had to do hand to hand combat for one of them, and the other involved Vedha facing off against an entire gang, armed with a pistol and AK-47. The actor was already familiar with handling a pistol, so the team had to focus on perfecting his skills with a rifle.

Pushkar spoke of how Hrithik had to learn the ‘finer’ details of handling a range of different machinery. In the film, his character Vedha upgraded his weapons as he grew older, said the director.

Vikram Vedha will be released in theatres on September 30.