Exclusive! Nahas Hidayath reveals why Anbariv decided to do RDX amid Prabhas' Salaar and Ram Charan-Shankar film

By now, it’s no surprise that the makers of Minnal Murali don’t mind spending the extra bucks to rope in the best of talent behind the screen as well. For their upcoming venture, RDX – Robert Doney Xavier, which has Shane Nigam, Antony Varghese and Neeraj Madhav in the lead, the makers have got stunt directors Anbariv, of KGF and Vikram fame, to choreograph its action scenes.

In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, debutant filmmaker Nahas Hidayath tells us how the project was greenlit and what went into roping in the most sought-after stunt directors in the South today.

“After Minnal Murali, Weekend Blockbusters could have done a movie with anyone they wanted; in fact, they had invited scripts from a lot of people. That they decided to go ahead with a debutant’s project is a big deal,” he says. “As a beginner, when you pitch a big-budget actioner, few producers trust you to pull off the project. But producer Sophia (Paul) ma’am wanted a film that would present a theatrical experience and bring the audience to the cinemas, and that’s probably why they decided to back RDX, which is also a movie that would attract the young audience.”

The film, which is set to go on floors later this month, has 5-6 fight sequences. “My request to Sophia ma’am was that the action scenes of this film must be on par with that of KGF and Vikram. Budget-wise, we can’t spend as much as the other industries. Even when we bring Peter Hein to Malayalam, we aren’t able to provide the same set-up as the other industries for action choreography. In this movie, the set-ups are limited but it has to be told through proper action scenes. So, my only demand to Sophia ma’am was that we need Anbariv as part of the film,” says Nahas, who had previously planned to helm a campus-based action entertainer titled Aaravam with Antony Varghese.

Getting Anbariv, who had worked in Malayalam films such as Bachelor Party and Kammarasambhavam, onboard wasn’t an easy task as they were busy with big projects. “It took a lot some while for them to agree as they were already busy with Prashanth Neel’s Salaar and Shankar sir’s Ram Charan-starrer and didn’t have the time. But after hearing the script, they said that there needs to be an action movie in Malayalam that could set the bar high as all of us take reference from other industries for our stunt sequences. They were also convinced about the reasons for the fights in the movie,” says the director, who had also helmed the short film Colour Padam starring Aswin Jose and Mamitha Baiju.

On how big the sequences would be, he explains, “They take about 20-30 days to choreograph and shoot an action sequence. That’s the entire film’s schedule here in Mollywood. So, this film will have scenes that we can do within our limitations.”