Mumbai, Oct 14 (IANS): Director Kanishk Varma says hostage drama is a popular genre in the West and that he took inspiration from real-life incidents and books by popular author Vince Flynn for his upcoming action thriller 'Sanak - Hope Under Siege'.

The film stars Vidyut Jammwal, Rukmini Maitra, Neha Dhupia and Chandan Roy Sanyal. Varma hopes to change the game in the action-entertainment space as this intriguing story unfolds in a hospital under siege.

Talking about the genre, Varma said: "It is a very popular genre in the West but it is very difficult to crack it."

He said 'Sanak' was born out of lockdown last year.

"I was working on something else which involved going to four to five continents and then lockdown happened. So I thought of taking up something which is production-friendly and which I can do within an enclosed space."

He added: "I have always been a fan of 'Die Hard' which is a genre in itself. Films like 'Speed' and 'Air Force One' are actually 'Die Hard' on a bus and aeroplane, respectively. It just became a genre in itself."

"Similarly, there are a lot of real-life incidents in 'Sanak' that we have taken and a lot of books by popular author Vince Flynn that I got inspired from."

The director shared that to make action sequences not look repetitive they designed them in a way where Vidyut is seen fighting in "a hospital set up, in the MRI room, physiotherapy room, aqua therapy room, using the magnetic pull of the machine to disarm the people."

"While we were designing action sequences for the film, I was very clear that it should be an old Hong Kong style of action, similar to Hollywood action superstars like John Woo and what people saw in the movie 'John Wick'. Sanak features ballet kind of action."

He credited Vidyut for making action look easy in the film.

"With Vidyut, it becomes easy to shoot because he is such a brilliant martial artist in his own right. I think we have done a good job and we have tried to keep all the emotions, thrill and the intrigue possible in the movie along with great action."

'Sanak - Hope Under Siege' is presented by Zee Studios in association with Sunshine Pictures Pvt Ltd and will be streaming from October 15 on Disney+ Hotstar Multiplex. It is a Vipul Amrutlal Shah production.