- Rupin Suchak joined Dhurandhar 2 as additional production designer after Saini S Johray left
- Mumbai's Film City was used to recreate ambulance scenes and overcome location issues
- Bora Bazar market was transformed into Pakistan for shooting, limited to Sundays only
The success of Dhurandhar 2 is incomplete without the people who worked on the film behind the camera. In the last few days, director Aditya Dhar has started sharing posts for the crew equally responsible for making the movie what it has become. This long list also features Rupin Suchak, who served as the additional production designer on the two-part Dhurandhar saga.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Rupin Suchak talks about working with Aditya Dhar on Dhurandhar 2, and designing the most expensive, and challenging sequences in the two movies.
The production designer, also known for films such as Ki & Ka, Padman, Dear Zindagi, and Netflix series Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, said he boarded the project after production designer Saini S Johray's exit.
"It was an integrated shoot. It was not like an independent movie shoot happening all together for part two. So, a few portions in part two have been borrowed from the part one shoot.
"The first part was done by another production designer who had to leave and didn't continue on the second part. We took the handover and we started executing the second part of it somewhere around midway because it was all a mix of both the parts," Rupin Suchak said.
Dhurandhar, mounted on a reported Rs 280 crore, was shot across Bangkok, Thailand, as well as Indian cities Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Amritsar. The Lyari neighbourhood, the backdrop of Dhurandhar, was constructed on a sprawling six-acre set in Bangkok.
What was the most expensive set for the film?
"The Lyari set creation was one of the most expensive creations which we have done within the film... Also, the set where Arjun Rampal's father is sitting and the whole bathtub sequence was also an expensive sequence.
"Either the time or the money has to be calibrated. Since the time was short, the money was higher in execution. And, we did that. We were racing against time to complete that as we were closing on to the second part's release, and hence we had to complete that," Rupin Suchak told NDTV.
In the run-up to the release of Dhurandhar 2 on March 19, several videos of actors Sanjay Dutt and Arjun Rampal, dressed in character as SP Chaudhary Aslam and Major Iqbal, shooting in Mumbai's Film City went viral on social media.
Dhurandhar part 2 shooting
by u/jaskirat_singh_rang in Dhurandhar
The production designer revealed that the team initially had plans to shoot at some other location.
"We actually opted for a full dress-up of a location in Mumbai, and due to some technical and permission issues, we were not able to continue. So we had to set up that. So we set that up in Film City entirely. That whole ambulance scene with Sanjay Dutt in the streets was also shot in Film City."
Rupin Suchak also spoke about how they transformed the heavily crowded Bora Bazar, the historic market near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, into Pakistan.
"We did some live location shoots near Bora Bazar in Mumbai... People have posted a lot of such reels where they have seen the crew and all of us shooting there. That was challenging, because we were supposed to shoot only on Sundays.
"It's a working market, and we had to convert the entire market into Pakistan. So, a lot of challenging issues in terms of racing against the time. Otherwise nothing is challenging as per se, because once you have planned out, you can execute whatever you want and however you want," he said.
With "a great team and director" like Aditya Dhar, collaborating on Dhurandhar 2 was a fantastic experience, added the production designer.
"We shot a couple of things just a few days before the release because the story demanded that. This is where a director's insight and vision come in. He wanted to do that and wanted to make sure that the story is not compromised," he added.
Rupin Suchak's upcoming projects include Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, starring Rishab Shetty.
Also Read | Step Inside The World Of Lyari For Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar 2, Courtesy: Set Designer
