Mumbai: Actor Shahid Kapoor, who plays an army man in “Rangoon”, took training from ace shooter Ronak Pandit to get correct the nuances for his role.
Shahid trained closely for the period drama with the champion shooter, who bagged gold in the Men’s 25m Standard Pistol category at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The training took place at Malad and Worli shooting range for over a week.
“Shooting is probably in Shahid Kapoor’s blood. We did a lot of exercises to help him understand the technique of using the trigger. We followed the same training process that we do for the Olympics,” Pandit said in a statement here.
“We shot at different calibers and ranges and did precision shooting to get the angles right. He had a few long distance shots in the film and we wanted him to look convincing,” he said.
Pandit further reveals that on the last day of the training, they went to the Worli range to shoot the firearm with real bullets.
Apart from understanding the basics of rifle shooting, Pandit also taught Shahid the methods of gripping the gun, perfecting the stance and aiming at target.
“Shahid is a really talented man and by day two, he seemed effortless. He picked up the tricks faster than I anticipated and his fitness made the process easier,” he said.
“He is down to earth, almost like a college buddy. Also, given that he is punctual, working with him becomes easier,” he added.
For “Rangoon”, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj has reunited with Shahid for the third after the success of “Kaminey” and “Haider”.
Also starring Saif Ali Khan and Kangana Ranaut, “Rangoon” which is set during the time of World War II releases on February 24.
PTI