Apoorva Lakhia’s Mission Istanbul is a full on action film that has the actors performing not only dangerous stunts but also working in some very dangerous scenes. Recently while filming a pivotal sequence, Zayed and Suniel had a close call when a bomb exploded too close to them and they were thrown off their feet.
Director Lakhia said, “We have put up a huge set of a guerilla camp away from Jaipur City. The scene involved a fight between the Al Qaida and the Northern Alliance where Zayed and Suniel have been captured and kept as prisoners. The scene involved four helicopters, 200 fighters and 20 explosions.
Suniel and Zayed had to run down a slope with a bomb exploding in the background but it exploded too close and they were showered with shrapnel.”
This is not the first time Zayed has had to do a stunt with things exploding around him, he and co-star Vivek Oberoi all ready had to jump out of an exploding helicopter into the sea. He said, “Mission Istanbul has got to be the biggest and best action film I have worked in till today. I am battered, bruised, and have broken three bones but I still love it. Apoo has a vision for action.
For this particular action sequence Anna (Suniel) and me had to jump away from a rocket-propelled grenade but when the actual explosion happened Suniel and I went flying and there were shrapnel and splinters all over my arm!”
Suniel who is not only acting in the film but also producing it said that they are of course prepared if anything were to go really wrong, “We have a doctor and medical aid on hand. There is also a jeep ready to take people to hospital if anything serious happens. All this is required in today’s times, specially when we are shooting in the interiors.”
