500 workers, 20 days, one city: How Dhurandhar recreated Lyari in Bangkok
The production designer of Dhurandhar revealed how Lyari was recreated with 500 workers in just 20 days on a six-acre set in Bangkok.
‘Dhurandhar’Production designer Saini S Johare recently talked about creation of the unfathomable world of Lyari in Bangkok. The two parts of the film were shot extensively in Bangkok, Mumbai and Chandigarh. In an earlier interview with Hollywood Reporter IndiaJohre revealed that he worked for about 20 days with Thai workers to build Lyari on six acres of land.
He said, “We had to build this six-acre set in 20 days in a country where I couldn’t take a lot of people from India. I can’t take 500 people to build a set. So, of course, I had to collaborate with the artistes there.”
Johre told that around 500 people worked on the set every day. He further added, “We had Thai manpower of about 300-400 people, and in total, we were about 500 people working day and night for about 20 days to build this six-acre set.”
While most of the scenes depicting Lyari, an old neighborhood in Karachi, Pakistan, were shot in Thailand, another large set was built in Mumbai to add depth to the narrative. Johre said that the team built a huge set on Mud Island.
He said, “It was a huge set, about four acres. It featured a lot of action, including several explosion sequences.”
In addition to the challenges of manpower and authenticity, the production designer also had to contend with weather constraints. Johre revealed that filming began in July during Mumbai’s monsoon season, making outdoor shooting almost impossible.
He explained, “With the scale and stars we had, it was impossible to shoot the scenes in Mumbai. We needed a huge six-acre space, and a studio was not an option. Our dates were in July, which meant it was not possible to set up in Mumbai during the monsoons. We did recce in several countries, but finally landed in Thailand. It offered the perfect scenario to create larger-than-life sets.”
stalwart Unearths the nexus between Pakistani politicians, gangsters and terrorist networks. Set in the city of Lyari in Karachi, the film centers on an Indian spy who is sent to infiltrate criminal gangs and terrorist organizations.
The film has received a strong response from the audience. Starring Ranveer Singh with Arjun Rampal, Akshaye Khanna and Sanjay Dutt, stalwart The shows are running housefull even in the second week. Its collection on the second Monday was around Rs 29 crore in India, making it One of the greatest Hindi films of all timeAnd the biggest of Ranveer Singh’s career.
The film is directed by Aditya Dhar.
