‘We Watched Salman Khan in ‘Bharat’ and Sanjay Dutt in ‘Dhurandhar’ Before Shooting’: ‘7 Dogs’ Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah on Working With The Stars (EXCLUSIVE)

Saudi Arabian film “7 Dogs” stars two Indian actors, Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. The film, which released in West Asia in May this year, is currently gearing up for an Indian release on August 21. Speaking exclusively to Variety India about the action comedy, directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah share details about filming high-octane scenes and working with a brilliant ensemble cast, including Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt.

El Arbi and Fallah wanted to be prepared before collaborating with the Indian stars. For their preparation, the two watched Khan and Dutt’s movies, which helped them understand their body of work and the kind of performers they were working with. Adil reveals, “We love history. We checked out the film ‘Bharat’ which stars Salman. It was interesting to see a fictional yet biography-style movie. We also started watching ‘Dhurandhar’ to understand the kind of films Sanjay does. We have not watched the second installment yet, but we plan on doing that soon.”

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While they were aware of Khan and Dutt’s statuses as stars in India, the two were immensely excited after being introduced to their cinematic legacies. Adil shares, “It’s like having a filmography equivalent to Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. They are people with a tremendous amount of experience. They breathe cinema. It’s in their blood. When they come on set, they are like professional football players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. They were helping us create by doing things beyond the script. They were filmmakers themselves.”

As the movie was fully shot in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, the directors recall creating the Mumbai setting particularly difficult. They shot the sequences using a 360-degree camera, making it challenging as well as difficult to shoot. Bilall Fallah adds, “It shoots everything around you. We were even in the shot at times. It was difficult to understand how it would work because it's really about adapting your minds. Normally, you shoot one way and then add the stunts. But due to the 360 aspect, the actors had to act and perform the stunts at once. That is a challenge for both the directors and the actors. Also, our producer, Cyrus Patel, who is from Mumbai and India, made sure that the Mumbai sequence was authentic.”

Despite the team struggling with the camera angles, Khan and Dutt got their shots right every time. Fallah says, “They were always ready to do the stunts themselves. When we were explaining things, they immediately understood the intent. It was super smooth working with them, even though the action sequence was really difficult to do. Even with the 360-degree camera, they knew exactly where the camera was and how to play with it during the most visceral action.”

In conclusion, El Arbi and Fallah add, “This movie is a cinematic experience. There is original action. In fact, our two Indian stars have done all the stunts themselves.”