"The very premise of the film swells my chest with pride," said Akshay Kumar of his latest film. The star plays Havildar Ishar Singh in the true-life story based on the forgotten and heroic battle of Saragarhi in 1897, where 21 Sikh men fought against an Afghan army of over 10,000.
Akshay takes us behind two of the major action sequences in Kesari - one set in the beautiful, but desolate Spiti valley and the other closer to Mumbai in Wai, Maharashtra.
In Spiti, the cast and crew had to shoot the battle in a high-altitude setting. "To recreate a battle that took place in 1897, we had to learn the traditional battle styles then," says the actor, admitting that the choreography at the location was quite difficult to pull off.
Director Anurag Singh also showed how the characters had to load their battle rifles, one bullet at a time, slowing them down when facing their foes.
While shooting at Wai, the conditions were the opposite of Spiti. The actor had to film his scenes in extreme heat, while wearing a heavy turban. But Singh said the climax, shot there, was the most interesting to shoot in the film. Akshay also added that he had the best time in his career doing the action sequences for Kesari as they were so raw and "completely out of this world".
The war film, produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Aruna Bhatia, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, and Sunir Kheterpal, lands in theatres on 21 March, Holi.
Watch the behind-the-scenes video below: