film Rahul Dholakia, who directed Shah Rukh Khan in 'Raees', has directed 'Agni', a film based on fire fighters. The film sheds light on the lives of firefighters, who save the lives of others without sacrificing their own lives.
Recently Pratik Gandhi, Divyandu Sharma, Saiyami Kher and director Rahul Dholakia spoke to Frontpage Insights about the film. The film will be streamed on OTT platform Amazon Prime Video on December 6.
During the conversation, Divyandu Sharma said that film stars, cricketers and politicians are not our heroes. Prateek Gandhi said that the fireman died due to electric shock while rescuing the bird. They are our real heroes.
Read some more highlights of the conversation during the question-and-answer session.
Question – Before the film 'Agni', you directed 'Raees' with Shahrukh. Why did this film take so long to make? Answer : Making anything good takes time. This film is coming after seven years of 'Raees'. I spent a lot of time researching the subject before making the film. After shooting the film, also spent a lot of time on VFX. Anyway, if you look at my filmography, every film of mine has taken time. After 'Kehta Hai Dil Baar Baar', 'Parzania', 'Lamha' and 'Raees', now comes 'Agni'.
Question- How did you come up with the idea of making a film on 'Fire Fighters'? Answer- When we go to America or any other country we see that fire fighters are given a lot of respect there. Their idols are made there. Inspired by his bravery and work, people want to be like him. This is not the case with us. That's where I got the idea to make a film on this subject.
In Hollywood Many films have been made on fire fighters, but not a single film has been made in Bollywood. In our films, only the hero comes to extinguish the fire. We are throwing light on the life of fire fighters through this film. Who are our true heroes?
Question- Prateek, viewers have seen the close friendship between you and Divyandu in the film 'Madgaon Express'. What was the chemistry between you two during the shooting of 'Agni'? Answer- We shot 'Agni' before 'Madgaon Express'. We first met on the sets of the film 'Agni'. Our friendship and enmity started with that film. Viewers saw our friendship in 'Madgaon Express'. Both friendship and enmity will be seen in 'Agni'.
Question- When you were approached for 'Agni', what was your reaction to the film and the character? Answer- I was very excited. We see firefighters every day. It's surprising that people don't talk about them. The fire fighters force is a force that is not given much credit. Which they deserve. I am playing the role of fire fighters in it. It took me a long time to understand the mindset of this character.
The story of firefighters is full of heroism. We have tried to show the same in this film. When we showed the film to firefighters in Delhi and Mumbai, they thanked us and said that this is what happens. For me, the real heroes are the firefighters.
Q- Divyandu, who do you consider your hero in real life? Answer- Scientists and firefighters are true heroes to me. I think we talk too little about scientists. We don't even know how many great discoveries have been made in the world of science? We only talk about film stars, cricketers and politicians. They are considered heroes, but no one talks about scientists and firefighters.
Question- Saiyami, you are playing the role of a female firefighter in this film. How much did you know about fire fighters before this movie? Answer- To my great shame, I did not know that women also joined the fire fighters. I came to know about the female firefighter when Rahul Dholakiaji gave me the script for the film. His life is full of daily sacrifices. The film salutes their devotion, courage and sacrifice.
Q- Pratik, did you meet any real character before shooting? Answer- I have met many people. Firefighters aren't just for putting out fires. They are also called for many different jobs. Recently met a family of firefighters. He said a call came in for a bird that was trapped somewhere.
There were high-voltage power lines above where the bird was trapped. A fireman died of an electric shock while rescuing a bird. A fireman's purpose is only to save lives. Whatever life is, a normal person cannot think like this. Firemen are superheroes to me.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
