From fighting Salman Khan in a Bollywood-style fight sequence to going toe-to-toe with Chris Hemsworth in a brutal fistfight, Randeep Hooda has brought to the screen various kinds of cinematic action sequences. But the actor feels that of late, action in Indian films has become ‘boring’ as it is not always backed by solid emotion. In a chat with Hindustan Times, the actor breaks down what makes action engaging and why he favours gritty action over massy over-the-top style.
On action becoming boring
Randeep is set to appear as supercop Avinash Mishra in the second season of Inspector Avinash. The show requires him to perform many action scenes. Talking about the genre, he tells us, “I find action very boring unless it is driven by emotion. A lot of action has become spectacle rather than a situation. Most people are yawning through in the cinemas for that. I have seen it. But as soon as you put emotion behind it, and if you make the audience invested in the fight, only then does it work.”
He believes that the audiences are now bored of repetitive style of action. “Empty action without emotional quotient is something we have overdone as an industry. People are just not buying it,” says Randeep.
‘Was not in favour of South Indian-style action’
Inspector Avinash is grounded in reality. It is a dramatised retelling of how UP Police’s Special Task Force was created to catch the dreaded gangster Shriprakash Shukla. But despite being rooted in reality, the show employs larger-than-life action sequences. “I was not actually in favour of this South Indian-style, glorified action in Inspector Avinash. I was hoping it’d be more real and rooted,” he confesses.
But the actor adds that now he feels that director Neeraj Pathak made the right call by keeping the action larger than life. “He said, ‘Yes, this is a show based in reality, but I also want to make enhanced reality’. It had to have a larger-than-life feel to it because the character himself is larger than life. I am glad they kept it because it cuts great promos, and even in the show, you are awed by this guy’s ability to do it,” says Randeep.
About Inspector Avinash season 2
Inspector Avinash, written and directed by Neeraj Pathak, also stars Urvashi Rautela, Amit Sial, Shalin Bhanot, Rahul Mittra, Zakir Hussain, Ayeesha S. Aiman, Zohaeb Farooqui, Bidita Bag, Pravin Sisodia, Rajneesh Duggal, and Ajay Chaudhary. The second season will stream on JioHotstar from 15 May, three years after season 1.