War is an all-time historic blockbuster that set the box office on fire in 2019 and became the highest-grossing film of the year. Directed by Siddharth Anand, the film starred two of the biggest action superstars of the country Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff in an adrenaline-pumping face off. On the 1st anniversary of the film that grossed close to Rs. 320 crore nett in India, Sid Anand reveals that Aditya Chopra and he had set out to achieve a new benchmark for action spectacles in India with War.
Siddharth says, “When we started out, the script of War was being written, I was writing it like an English film. It didn't have songs, its language was very new. When I say language, I don’t mean spoken language, it is the language of the film, the way scenes unfold. The content of each scene, the way the screenplay unfolds, it was a little complex in terms of the timeline and the way things were moving, it was like a relentless thriller. I didn't know what the palette of the audience would be in 2 years to the time the film releases, to keep up with the current trends, the evolving taste of the audience.”
He adds, “When the film came out, it was extremely relevant and contemporary thankfully, that was the endeavor. When the film was cast, it had Hrithik and Tiger - the casting was just through the roof! It was a dream cast and we weren’t expecting two superstars coming together! Nowadays to get one actor in a film is so tough, and to get two superstars was like a dream. So, naturally, the expectations of the film went high.”
Siddharth has always given something new to audiences through his cinema. From Salaam Namaste, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Bang Bang! and now War, the director has shown that he is an extremely ambitious film-maker who wants to bring forth newness on screen.
He says, “The fact that we got two action superstars, we had to set a benchmark. When I started making action films, I started in 2012, I just knew that there is no benchmark or template for me in India. Because I don’t think we make many action films or good action films in India. I wanted to beat my own expectations of what I’ve achieved in the previous action films. My competition was the action in Bang Bang! There was very new, very radical stuff that we did in Bang Bang! and I was competing with that and wanted to give audiences a little more than that and I ended up giving them a whole lot more with WAR.”
Talking about the creative discussions that he had with YRF head honcho Aditya Chopra while setting out to make WAR, Siddharth reveals, “The most important factor in making a big action spectacle film is the producer. And we had someone like Adi, who is a no holds barred producer. He doesn't spare any expenses but of course he makes sure that the money is well spent and correctly spent. And whatever you spend it shows on screen. I had someone who doesn't flinch in giving the audience a spectacle that they have not seen and rise beyond the expectations!”
He adds, “I mean he is the kind of a producer who I could give mad suggestion like - let's go shoot a car chase sequence in the arctic. I mean any other producer at that point in time would've said you have Hrithik and Tiger, just do the action sequence on a set and do some mind-blowing action within that set, blow up the set if you want. I did that also and I did the arctic car chase, so the fact that I can even suggest these things because I know that there is an equally mad producer in Adi, who just lives and breathes films and cinema; and is there only to better it.”
---
Source: Hindustan Times
Date: Oct 2, 2020
As Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff-starrer War completes one year of its release on Gandhi Jayanti, here are some interesting facts from the movie. The Siddharth Anand film turned out to be the highest grossing film for the two male leads. Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff-starrer War completes one year of its release on Friday.
The film was the Gandhi Jayanti release last year and turned out to be the biggest blockbuster of 2019 with collections of over Rs 300 crore at the domestic box office. Director Siddharth Anand rustled up quite the entertainer with gravity-defying stunts and well-choreographed dance numbers. Talking about the film, the director says, ‘The fact that we got two action superstars, we had to set a benchmark. When I started making action films, I started in 2012, I just knew that there is no benchmark or template for me in India. Because I don’t think we make many action films or good action films in India. I wanted to beat my own expectations of what I've achieved in the previous action films. My competition was the action in Bang Bang! There was very new, very radical stuff that we did in Bang Bang! and I was competing with that and wanted to give audiences a little more than that and I ended up giving them a whole lot more with WAR.'
In order to mark the first anniversary of the film, here are some lesser known facts about War:
1. The most spectacular action scene in the climax was shot on the Arctic Circle. Just to give context to how big the ice-breaker ship is, it is about 300 feet long and can break through ice that is about 10 feet deep! It is the biggest ice-breaker cargo ship in the Arctic and the production crew had to wait for 5 months before they could get the permission to shoot on this ship the source had told ANI.
2. Tiger played double role in the film. In the last scene, a tribute is paid to Tiger's Capt. Khalid Rahmani who was martyred in an attack. A portrait of him in uniform is placed for a ceremony with the character's birth and death date mentioned under it. Interestingly, Khalid's birth date is the real birth date of Tiger - 2nd March 1990.
3. Comedian Johnny Lever's son Jesse Lever made his acting debut with the film. He played a field agent named Muthu, who is part of Hrithik's special forces team. His character however, dies early in an attack.
4. Hrithik may have pulled off the high-octane stunts and complex dance moves with perfection but the actor was struggling with several health issues during the making of the film. According to Mid-Day report, Hrithik approached Tiger's trainer Kuldeep Shashi for advice. Talking about his various struggles, Sashi said, “Hrithik had a lot of genuine medical problems; not mere aches and pains. I told him that he was in pain because he had been executing an action in the absence of a team [of physiotherapists and nutritionists]. When you have a team, they look after you. When I travel with Tiger, I am focussed on him and his stunts. I'm constantly guiding him. A trainer will push you to execute movements, but you need a physiotherapist to keep you from executing movements that are detrimental.
5. Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff challenged each other on the dance floor in the song Jai Jai Shivshankar, which was a hit among the audience. The song was a tribute to Hrithik's maternal grandfather J Om Prakash as it was originally filmed for his film Aap Ki Kasam.
----
Source: DNA India
Date: Oct 2, 2020
Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff's 'WAR' managed to cross collections of 2019's much-spoken-about film 'Kabir Singh' It has been a year since Hrithik vs Tiger, eventually named as 'WAR', released. The film was the first time when Tiger Shroff and his 'guru' Hrithik Roshan collaborated. While it still not clear how, but YRF's 'WAR' managed to become the highest grossing film of 2019. Shahid Kapoor's 'Kabir Singh', directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, managed to create a huge controversy, and eventually rule over the Box Office ever since it released in June.
The movie collected Rs. 397.02 crore in its lifetime, while also giving Shahid his due as an actor. Prabhas' film 'Saaho' opposite Shraddha Kapoor then took over when it released in August. Even when declared a flop, the movie grossed Rs. 433 crore. Two months later, Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff fans got what they were awaiting since a long time - to see their favourite heroes in action. Eventually, the Siddharth Anand film went on to gross Rs. 475.50 crore at the Box Office worldwide, making a record that could not be beaten by any other film in the year. Neither 'Good Newwz' nor 'Dabangg 3' could manage to beat the Box Office record. Even though 'WAR' was a big hit at the Box Office, it did not beat the previous year (2018)'s record. Ranbir Kapoor's film 'Sanju', a biopic on Sanjay Dutt's life, had grossed Rs. 586.85 crore in that year, closely followed by Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone's Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial 'Padmaavat', which earned Rs. 585.87 crore.