He’ll be fine, he’s only 33,” quipped Akshay Kumar as he stood with Tiger Shroff on a chilly hilltop in Wadi Rum, Jordan. While everyone was covered up to their noses in thermals, jackets and hoodies, Tiger danced wearing a slim waistcoat, his torso bare. Going shirtless is not Akshay’s USP, so he wore just a little bit more for the fourth song picturisation of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (BMCM), ready and set to be a big Id release. With the rest of us feeling like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, Akshay explained his own exposure to the elements, “That’s why we get paid what we do.” Unlike actors who revel in fame but like playing victim, Akshay acknowledges the perks of stardom.
With a wrap-up party, where he screened a behind-the-scenes teaser of his two-hero action film, producer Vashu Bhagnani’s promotions took off on a scale not seen in recent times — he invited 52 pan-India journalists to Jordan. “I wanted something out of this world for our songs,” he explained. “Where else would I get this?” His hand swept across the vast expanse of desert, hills and clear blue sky. “If we had shown you a promo, it wouldn’t have been the same as personally seeing these locations,” said son Jackky, who has grown in confidence, stepping into his father’s shoes to pull off such a big production. “Dad’s still the one with the money,” he laughed. “I’m looking more at the creative side.”
“Do you know Lawrence of Arabia (1962) was shot here?” Akshay asked me. Count Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989), The Martian (2015), Aladdin (2019) and The Dune (2021) among the Hollywood movies that have been shot in Jordan. Also, Prithviraj’s Malayalam film Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life). Coincidentally, Prithvi is also the main villain of BMCM.
Hollywood, Bollywood, Olivewood. The latter is seriously wooing the first two — there’s even a studio named Olivewood in Jordan, a film-friendly country with a single window clearance for film shoots. Besides Wadi Rum, with its otherworldly ambience, Petra, one of the seven wonders of the world (where Tiger shot for Munna Michael in 2017), and Dead Sea, the lowest below-sea-level place on this planet, biblical locations exist alongside the Bedouin experience. Troubled Israel is just a stone’s throw away, twinkling blue lights demarcating it from its neighbour. But except for the infrequent sight of fighter planes tearing through the sky, the shooting in Jordan went off without a crease.
The action scenes have been shot in Glasgow, Abu Dhabi and Vashu’s base, London. His sprawling Pooja Studio in London has drawn other filmmakers too, including Ajay Devgn’s Shaitaan, co-starring R. Madhavan.
“I wanted to go to Holly- wood,” disclosed Vashu, a builder with a construction business. London is midway and crossing the Atlantic is still on his horizon.
Meanwhile, the next big project for the family is Jackky’s destination wedding with Rakul Preet Singh on February 20. “We thought of Doha but decided on Goa,” said Vashu, who’s gung-ho about the celebration. “I’m always positive about everything. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here,” he said, literally and figuratively, as he stood in Wadi Rum. The groom has been too busy with BMCM to be nervous or anxious. “Maybe five days before the event, it will hit me,” he said. “But I’m marrying my best friend.”
These days, producers and heroes work in tandem over every detail. Once Akshay was on board, Tiger, who was on the wishlist, stepped in. With a nod from writer-director Ali Abbas Zafar, BMCM took off. Curiously, when the original BMCM was released in 1998, Amitabh Bachchan was 56. Akshay is 56 today. Govinda was 35 while Tiger will turn 34 this March.
Akshay, who had the media accompany him, Tiger and the Bhagnanis on the chartered flight back, remembered the good old days when they’d invite the press on outdoor shoots. Will BMCM bring back the golden 90s?
Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and author
