Exclusive: Behind the Scenes of Luck

"Imran is a treat to work with. This boy is totally like a Hollywood star. Very very professional," says Soham Shah, director of Luck about one of his lead actors. In this exclusive feature, we bring forth his sentiments about a few behind the scene images taken during the making of Luck. So, gear up to get all the dope on shooting with hungry sharks, Sanjay Dutt's prowess as a photographer, why Danny is the fittest man in the industry and how tough it was to shoot the action sequences in the film. Over to Soham...

"I think this is the moment of the film for me. I remember in the entire film, I never kind of clicked any pictures with my stars but this day was the last day of shooting in South Africa. And I had these three legends together so I couldn't stop myself asking all the three to stand up for this particular photograph for me because this will always be my memory as the legends of this particular generation coming together for me."

"Imran is one of those actors who are there with you all the time. He loves direction, he loves knowing the filmmaking process and what happens behind the scene before the shoot. So he was there always before time. He really loves to understand how the entire unit technicians work, how the cameraman works. He is like a great support system. This is one of the moments where he is just being there for the film."

"Nobody knows about this but Sanjay Dutt is actually a brilliant photographer. He loves cameras and photography is one of his favorite hobbies. Nobody knows he loves nature; he loves locations, loves places which are not explored, so I think Luck has been really exciting for him because we explored locations like National Geographic sites, heritage sites where no other films have been shot. This is one of the moments where he is enjoying with his camera. Besides this particular camera he has got a professional zoom camera also."

"This particular day we were shooting at this Cargo Dock in Durban and we were preparing for this particular shark sequence. We had the entire star cast together, Danny, Ravi Kishan, Chitrashi, Shruti...all of them and this was like a joint narration for this particular scene. All the actors were being briefed, a kind of workshop, everybody was being told the timing of the shots, the timing of the scene and dialogue etc. It was really scary shooting with the Sharks. The actors have been lucky. We shot in this ocean where we used to see huge whales swimming around us and hundred real sharks. It's been really a part of 'luck' that everybody survived the shoot."

"I and Imran share a rapport which is like between friends. Since he had read the script we did not have much of a discussion during the shoot because everything was so clear on paper that we both used to know exactly what we are shooting on next day. But this is one of those moments in between the scene where we were discussing a few improvisations which add to the action part and the screenplay parts. Here I am kind of convincing him on that particular shot. Imran is a treat to work with. This boy is totally like a Hollywood star. Very very professional, very focused and he works only for the film and not for himself."

"We were shooting the climax in Thailand and it was a very hectic shoot in which we had trains running at great speeds and there are mines blasting on trains. Imran had to jump off from the plane. The person sitting in the centre is Allan Amin, the action director who has done a brilliant job. He is one of the best in India. So this was one of the moments where we are really very tired and the heat was absolutely killing us, so in between the lunch break before we could resume the shoot, we are just sitting and chatting and enjoying the moment."

"See I think usually what happens is that all the posters of a film have the lead stars of the film and people are attracted to the star cast of the film. But there are some genuine heroes in the film who are behind the scene heroes. I think my asset as a director has always been Santosh Thundiyill, the cameraman. This is the second film I am doing with him as my cameraman. He is brilliant and he is one of the heroes for the film, for me, because whatever transforms on the screen it's very important how well it has been shot and Santosh has been there throughout like a pillar."

"Basically Danny sir has been one of my favorite character actors for all these years. When I got him on board I was most happy because his role is like the backbone of the film. Out of all the seven characters, Danny sir's role is like the backbone that holds the entire film together. How he brings everybody together, gets the film together plays a very important role in the film. He is one of those most professional actors who even at this particular age are fitter then any of us in the unit. Undoubtedly, he was one of the best actors to work with on the set."