Recently Brahim gave an interview to KFK, in which he spoke about the creation of “Monkeyman“, the process of working with Dev Patel on creating the film's outstanding action scenes, and also shared details about his role as the antagonist Tiger Shroff in the 2023 Bollywood martial arts epic “Ganapath”(Ganapath).
Hello Brahim!
Welcome back to Kung Fu Kingdom! We're glad to connect with you again and hope you're doing well.
Hey Brad! I'm doing great, thank you!
Amazing! Well, let's get straight to the making of my directorial debut. Patel's Maiden “Monkeyman”! How did you join the project as fight choreographer?
Well, basically, there were very few projects during the pandemic from March to September 2020, and Mike Leader contacted me and informed me that they were looking for an action choreographer for Dev Patel's film. When Mike said it was Dev Patel, I knew him mainly from the films “Slumdog Millionaire” And "Hotel Mumbai“, and knew that he was a very, very good actor. Then I had a meeting with him and the producer Erica Lee.
We immediately found a common language. After that, I assembled a team of other stuntmen in Thailand and did pre-visualization for them in Indonesia, and that's how it all started. It was basically five to six months in Indonesia where we worked under the COVID rules that were in place at the time.
Yes, many films have had to contend with COVID to complete production in the last few years. So when it comes to the action in Monkeyman, Dev Patel is a black belt in taekwondo and a former British champion in the competition. What can you tell us about his preparation for the fight scenes in Monkeyman, juggling it with his directorial debut?
To be honest, when I joined the project, I didn’t even know that Dev was a black belt in taekwondo. I just knew he was a very, very talented actor. So first he came to train with us and for him it was mostly about learning the moves and getting used to the fight choreography.
There are two levels to fight scenes: one is the execution of the choreography and the other is telling the story through those fights, and for Dev, that was key. He wanted to tell the story through combat, he didn't want it to just be violence for the sake of violence. Every blow and action had to make sense, every throw, every aspect of the fight, and for me it was a real challenge, and Dev was completely immersed in it.
He was very precise in his requirements: “I need this to be like this and this to be different“, and each fight scene was tailored to Dev's needs to tell the story. So what you see in the trailer looks very brutal, but at the same time, when you watch the film, it tells a story.
As for Dev's preparation, I don't think he really needed to prepare much because he already knew how to throw punches and his reactions to others' punches. So in that regard, I was very surprised, to be honest, at how talented he is as an on-screen fighter. He really immersed himself in all the combat and, most importantly, telling the story through the combat.
“Monkeyman” was also reviewed in the media as “John Wick in Mumbai.” Did you take the franchise?John Wick” as a template when designing the film’s action scenes?
No, absolutely not. These days, if you put a guy in a suit, people immediately associate it with “John Wick“, but we weren’t trying to be like him, we were trying to do something completely different. John Wick has its own universe and its own storyline, but we're talking about something more dramatic here, and the violence that Dev brings to the film is, let's say, somewhat necessary.
Some of the fights have a tint Jackie Chan, where he uses objects around him, so a lot of it looks like a mixture of Jackie Chan and “Reid“. John Wick's style is mostly based on sambo, judo and jiu-jitsu, and we don't have a lot of that in the film, but I would say it's his unique style. This is basically a style that I have been bringing to the table for several years, but due to the fact that I have worked on many smaller scale films, I have never had the opportunity to work on a big budget film where I could show my abilities, and in “Mankimene” you'll see what I can do with a little more time and budget!
Yes, this is clearly visible in the film! In Monkeyman, Dev Patel's character also wears a gorilla mask when he enters the ring to fight. What can you tell us about the title of the film and how it relates to the main character?
Well, we have fight scenes in the movie at an underground fight club, and he wears a mask when he fights at the club. But the whole name “monkey man” is based on a Hindu character called Hanuman, so the monkey mask is related to that.
As a fight choreographer, what were your favorite fight scenes in Monkeyman?
[Laughs] Well, there are a lot of fight scenes in the film, and they're all different. It's a non-stop action film and my team, Dev Patel and the producers all put everything into it despite the COVID pandemic. I can say it's nice to see people enjoying the movie so much because it was supposed to be released in 2022 on Netflix. But that didn't happen and it came out in theaters because they had some kind of preview and people really liked it. So there are a lot of action scenes in the film, and I think they will please every action fan.
Yes, the action in Monkeyman is really impressive! How was working on it as a fight choreographer different for you compared to other projects you've been involved in?
On this project I not only had a very talented actor, but also more time and a large stunt team. I had a pre-visualization operator who I could tell how to film all the fights, and he would edit them as well, and I also had probably ten Indonesian stuntmen and coordinators with me.
So I had more resources to make the film and more time. In some of my previous work as an action choreographer, I was involved in smaller films where I had limited time. For example, in "Tekken 2“, I wasn’t told there was going to be a movie based on a game, so I was designing fights for a non-Tekken movie, and then, all of a sudden, it becomes “Tekken“! And everyone who saw him thought: “Oh, the fight choreographer failed“, but they didn’t know about the behind-the-scenes dealings with the producers.
So on “Mankimene“I had more resources, and also had a very talented actor and director in Dev, and we knew what we wanted, which was to tell the story through the fights and make sure we had memorable moments.
One of the scenes that can be seen in the trailer is when Dev burns a guy's face on a stove, breaks a bottle on his head, and then a fire breaks out. People remember those moments, so we wanted to make sure we had those memorable episodes. But as I said, this requires time and resources, and therefore cannot be compared with films such as “John Wick“, which are mega-projects with a lot of time, resources, endless shooting days and the possibility of reshoots. All this is necessary to create a very successful film.
Are there any talks about Monkeyman 2 behind the scenes, and if so, would you like to return as fight choreographer?
Of course, buddy! If there was talk of returning for “Monkeyman 2” as a fight choreographer, I would agree instantly because I already know the director and the lead actor, so yes, of course. But, as of now, I haven't heard anything about the second part, but if that happens, they might call me again!
Which famous martial artist would you like to see in a possible Monkeyman 2?
I don't know, maybe they could do a crossover between Monkeyman and John Wick! It would be cool!
How did you get involved in the 2023 Bollywood action movie “Ganapath” as Guddu, the last opponent and a scary MMA fighter named ” Bloodthirsty” [In the original “Blodbath” - which translates as “Blood Bath”]?
I got into “Ganapath” thanks to Tim Manu, who served as the film's action coordinator. We shot the film at the end of 2021, actually in London. We worked there for about eight weeks, although unfortunately a lot of what we did was cut.
I had more fight scenes in the film, including a fight with Mark Strange and another one with Lee Charles, but they were cut out and only showed brief moments at the beginning of the film. Besides, my fight with Tiger Shroff originally lasted about fourteen minutes, but they decided to cut it down to eight minutes.
Wow, the action scenes in Ganapatha are really amazing, but I hope we get to see those deleted scenes. By the way, you previously worked with Tiger Shroff in his 2019 film War. What can you tell us about working on this action-packed Bollywood hit with Tiger?
In "War“everything was really great, mate. I was part of a one long take scene in the film, and we shot it for maybe a week or so. Tiger is very easy to communicate with and is easy to work with, like a friend. So when I already knew him by “War“It was very easy for us to shoot the fight scene in “Ganapatha” .
Everything went very smoothly, we shot that whole fight scene in “Ganapatha” in about eight days, and fourteen minutes of material in eight days is pretty cool. Yes, he is easy to work with, very easy to talk to and a nice guy. He loves to work out, he's a real workout freak.
Yes, Tiger brings a lot of charisma and martial arts skills to films like Ganapath. By the way, your character, Bloodthirsty, bears a striking resemblance to the character Sagat from the “Street Fighter” franchise. Was this a conscious choice?
[Laughs] I don't think so. At first he had a different appearance without blood, just a shaved head and a couple of scars. I bulked up really well in this movie, I weighed about 82kg and was very massive. Then the whole blood thing and the imagery, I would say it wasn't intentional, but at the end of the day, yeah, when I look at some of the photos, he kind of looks like Sagat. I love the image I had for the character so it ended up working, he looks quite brutal.
And continuing on that excitement, your fight scene with Tiger in Ganapatha is simply incredible. What can you tell us about the whole experience of creating such a phenomenal fight with Tiger Shroff?
First of all, it was very cold because we shot the film in London from November to December. Then it took me two and a half hours to apply the makeup. I also had to wear a jacket between shoots, but that was the only time I could wear it because the makeup would stick to the jacket. And we had to apply makeup and blood all over my body over and over again, and at the end of the day, just wash it off.
We filmed the fight scene in the ring, which was good for all the jumping and choreography because you're fighting barefoot and it makes everything easier to do. A lot of attempts, a lot of hard work, and then, in the morning, training in the gym before filming, so it was a lot of work, but when you make a film like this, the downside may be that the producers or the director may decide to cut some parts from the film to create who had to work a lot.
I also worked on “John Wick 4” for about a week, one acting scene and one fight scene, all of which were unfortunately cut from the final film. These MMA movies are a lot of hard work, just like “Boyka: Undeniable 4“, but in this film, fortunately, everything reached the final version.
The fight scenes in Ganapatha are actually very reminiscent of Undisputed, thanks to Tim's fight choreography, and you guys did a phenomenal job with it.
Yes, that's why Tim got the job atGanapatha” as the fight choreographer because they wanted the Undisputed 4 style and Tim did a great job with the fights. Tim is probably one of the best, if not the best fight coordinator I know, and he can do wonders with very, very limited resources.
I think in the coming years, if you give Tim the right material, he can create something that can really compete with a lot of the things that other action directors are doing these days. He is one of the most talented and knowledgeable action directors working today.
Oh yeah, Tim has worked his magic in some of the best martial arts films of the 21st century. So, what were your most memorable moments working with Tiger?
On the set "Wars“I can highlight the triple kick he did to me. Every time I see Tiger, I know that this triple whammy is inevitable! Also, every day on set I tried to keep up with him because he is in great shape. It was like a healthy competition to be in better physical shape and I think it helped me become stronger. Tiger is in excellent physical shape! I really had to work hard to keep up. In general, the shooting was very friendly and calm.
Do you think Tiger is a warm person?
Yes, I would say so. He's very down to earth, like I said, and very similar to Scott Adkins. When you work with him on set, he always tries to help you find your next job. For example, we recently worked with Adkins on “Skyline: Warpath“, and he advised the director Liam O'Donnell” Okay, next time you should hire Brahim for this and that.“. Tiger is always keen to help you or create a comfortable environment on set.
A film or action scene between Scott Adkins and Tiger Shroff would be incredible - someone should do it!
Yes, perhaps in the future!
So, have you and Tiger exchanged martial arts tips or tricks?
Not too much because we basically do the same thing as far as stunts and stuff like that, so we had a lot of mutual respect.
We know Tiger is an amazing dancer, but who do you think has more variety of moves - you or him?
[Laughs] Oh, Tiger Shroff is definitely in this one! Tiger wins by knockout in the first round!
[Both laugh] So, what is it like working on a Bollywood action film like Ganapath compared to other countries you've worked in like Thailand and the US?
Well I've been working with Tim Man, and when I work with him, it's like I'm working with my older brother, essentially, so it's not stressful. Tim knows what I can do. He knows how far he can push me, so it wasn't too different because it was like working with family.
When you work with people like Tiger and Tim, who understand how to do good action scenes, it really doesn't feel like work, but more like having a great time. So the shoot went very smoothly, and credit to Tim for that, because he pre-visualized everything in Sweden before moving to England, so we just had to rehearse the fights in the hotel and then shoot, usually with just one camera.
So it was the same as anywhere else, it all depends on who you work with. Sometimes you have to work with people who make it harder, and sometimes you get lucky and work with friends, like Tim, who's a friend of mine, so it was almost like working with my older brother.
Cool! Well, while we say goodbye, Brahim, which other Bollywood action stars would you like to work with in the future?
I think maybe Vidyut Jamwal, he's one of those guys I'd love to work with. He looks a lot like Tiger, so I would love to do an action scene with him or maybe coordinate one of his films.
Sounds incredible, I hope we see this in the future. Thank you for your time today, Brahim. I wish you the best of luck with “Monkey Man” and all your upcoming action projects in 2024!
Thanks Brad and it was great to talk to Kung Fu Kingdom again!
Source: Kung Fu Kingdom
Home » The Interview »
Tags: Ganapath, monkey man, Skyline: Warpath, Brahim Achabbake, Dev Patel, Lee Charles, Mark Strange, Tiger Shroff
Tags: Ganapath, monkey man, Skyline: Warpath, Brahim Achabbake, Dev Patel, Lee Charles, Mark Strange, Tiger Shroff
Complete crap, not a movie. The previous two are much better.
Damn, that looks pretty good. I'll have to take note. Thanks.
I don't know why they do this... Even in their younger years, films like this were perceived...
Shannon Lanier. The answer to Nevsky was thoughtfully added at the end of the text.)