Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (SB)

Mangaluru, Nov 27: Sunil Rodrigues from Brahmavar is one of the most sought out action directors of Bollywood today. His prolific stunts are eye catchy and win the awe of the audience.

Specialised in creation, technical design, direction and production of action sequences, Rodrigues has worked with some of Bollywood’s most creative directors and producers for film, television, commercials and music videos for the last 25 years.

The stunt sequences created by Sunil Rodrigues speak a lot. He has a huge fan base and many consider him to be an inspiration.

In an interview with Daijiworld, Sunil reveals how he established himself in Bollywood.

Excerpts

Q: You hail from this coastal region. Can you tell us about your initial days before you became an action director?

A: My father Burman Rodrigues hails from Mysuru and my mother is from Mangaluru. My parents stayed at Brahmavar. In the early 60's, my father moved to Mumbai for work. I was born in 1973. I have one older brother and an older sister.

Q: Tell us more about your childhood days and your education?

A: Soon after my birth, my father took our family to Mumbai. Due to extreme poverty, I could not complete my primary education and the entire responsibility was on my father’s shoulders as he was the lone bread winner. Those were hard days. We had to pay house rent and take care of many more expenses. I used to work as a helper for the local vendors. Later, I did two year technical training course at a local firm and I started working as mechanic at the age of 18.

Q: How did you enter the movie industry? Was there a god father?

A: The firm I worked for as a mechanic, shut down following an agitation between the employer and the employees. But this became a major turning point of my life. I had worked in this firm for three years. I had to look for a new job, so I used to go to Amboli Garden where unemployed people sit and look forward for employers to pick them for work as per requirement.

My father had told me to sit there as movie directors, production managers visit Amboli Garden to pick labourers and fighters as per the requirement for their films.

One day, Tinnu Varma, a renowned action director visited Amboli Garden to pick few fighters for his new project. I was just 21 years old. Tinnu Varma was impressed with my height and included me in his next project. First day, I went as a normal fighter and got paid for my work. Tinnu Varma was impressed with my work and used to call me for every project. In this manner, I entered the film industry. I became a regular fighter for all action directors.

Q: When did you start directing action sequences and stunt scenes?

A: From the year 2012, I started directing action sequences. First, I worked as an associate director with a few action directors. It is here, I got more ideas on execution of action sequences. This helped me to direct action scenes independently. I formed my own stunt team. Thanks to the help and support by a few Bollywood directors, I was hired as an action director for their movies.

Q: You have worked a lot with Ajay Devgn in his films like Golmaal Again, Drishyam, Singham Returns. Can you tell us your experience working with Ajay Devgn and his team?

A: Ajay Devgan is one of my close friends. So, I enjoy working with him. There are no formalities between us. The experience is only fun and this creates best output. I also directed action sequence in Manmarziyaan, Karwaan, Nanu Ki Janu, Pari, Gurgaon, Phillauri, Dilwale, Badmashiyaan, and Himmatwala. I also worked in many South Indian films also such as Zanvoy No. 1, 31 Divas, Sophiya, Ashem Zalem Kashem,(all Konkani) Mukkabaaz and Puli (Tamil) Neerali (Malayalam) and many more.

Q: Any memorable action sequence in your film career?

A: Every action sequence is memorable in my film career. We have put in a lot of effort to plan, execute and bring out best action sequences in the movies. Performing stunts is like playing with life. A small mistake in execution of stunts can claim life of fighters and technicians.

For the film Dilwale, we had to improve our stunt scale. There was a high demand for the action to be bigger. I did the stunt choreography which included more than 200 stuntmen who were invited from Bulgaria and South Africa. This was one of the memorable experiences.

I have directed some of the intense action sequences for this film. In this film, I worked with the actor Shah Rukh Khan, Johnny Lever, and many others under the banner of Red Chillies Entertainment and Rohit Shetty Productions. I also did the stunt coordination for an English film called Viceroy’s House, which was a memorable experience for me.

Q: Apart from action director, you are also a good actor. Did you act in any movies?

A: As a fighter, I have acted in many movies. But as a supporting actor, I worked in the films Itihaas and Koyla in the year 1997.

Q: You hail from coastal region. Konkani is your mother tongue and you are fluent in Kannada too. Have you received offers from Coastalwood or Sandalwood?

A: Yes. I am proud to say I am from coastal Karnataka. Today, many from this region have made very good name in Bollywood. In industry, we all are very close friends and we always remember our native when we meet each other. I am in touch with many Konkani producers, directors and actors in Mangaluru. I worked in Konkani movies Zanvoy No. 1, Sophiya, Ashem Zalem Kashem. Mangalore to Goa is my latest Konkani movie which is now under post production. If time permits, I am always ready to be part of Konkani movies because Konkani is my mother tongue. It gives me a special feeling.

Q: Tell us about your family?

A: At present, I live in Mumbai. I am happily married to Veronica and have two kids Lisa Rodrigues and Nash. Nash is showing keen interest towards stunts and acting. As a child artiste, he has worked in ‘Golmaal Returns’ Hindi movie.

Sunil Rodrigues has bagged Film Fare award 2019 for his action in Bollywood movie Mukkabaaz. Sunil Rodrigues has directed and coordinated action sequences in films like Rocky Handsome, Golmaal Again, Dilwale, Drishyam, Zero, Simmba and many more.

Sunil Rodrigues's upcoming movie 'Sooryavanshi' is directed by Rohit Shetty and stars Akshay Kumar.