Vietnamese martial arts master trains 5,000 Indian extras

Receiving the award at the Indian Film Awards ceremony, the lead actor of the epic film Baahubali: The Beginning said: "To have achieved this success and receive this honor, I am very grateful to martial arts master Tuan for many months of training me in martial arts...".

"Martial arts master Tuan" is Phan Huynh Thanh Tuan (acrobatic Tuan) - a student of stuntman and journalist Lu Dac Long.

A scene in the movie Two-Faced Man almost blinded Thanh Tuan. Photo: Lu Dac Long

Produced in 2014, the film Baahubali: The Beginning (part 1) broke the Bollywood record with an investment of 100 million USD. When released in theaters in 2015, this work earned a revenue of 400 million USD, becoming one of the highest-grossing films in the history of Indian cinema. To promote, the producer also attracted attention with a giant poster of nearly 4,800 m2 ^, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. The film also won many prestigious awards, including the Best Film award at the National Film Awards of India for both parts, along with many awards for best director and best actor at the Filmfare Awards South - the oldest film award in India.

Thanh Tuan directs martial arts in the movie The Seventh Sense. Photo: Lu Dac Long

Baahubali: The Beginning tells the story of a two-generation battle for the throne between two brothers, Baahubali and Bhallaladeva. This work has made a strong impression on audiences thanks to its fascinating epic story and fierce fighting scenes, directed by action director Peter Hien - known as the "tiger" of Bollywood, with an Indian father and a Vietnamese mother.

Applying Vietnamese chess style to direct actions

At that time, martial arts master Thanh Tuan played the role of action assistant for Peter Hien. He was assigned to train, choreograph martial arts and fighting scenes for the main actors, supporting actors and about 5,000 - 7,000 extras. Specifically, Phan Huynh Thanh Tuan had to practice martial arts and arrange moves for 4 core actors and 200 supporting actors near the camera, ensuring they performed exactly according to the director's requirements. Finally, he also had to train about 5,000 - 7,000 extras to participate in the "big battles".

“Acrobat Tuan” directs and doubles for Indian actors. Photo: Lu Dac Long

Mr. Tuan said: "This is a big challenge because before I only worked with a maximum of 1,000 actors, while now the number is up to nearly 7,000 people, and more than 80% of them have never practiced martial arts." The requirement is that the fighting scenes must be realistic. To solve the problem of "how to practice, how to fight?", he and the Vietnamese and Indian stuntmen came up with a solution: assemble 8 fighting exercises from easy to difficult, then divide them into blocks and clusters for practice. Those who complete the easy exercises will continue to practice the more difficult exercises. "Whoever can do the most difficult exercise will be brought to the foreground, close to the camera," Mr. Tuan said.

Phan Huynh Thanh Tuan also faced another challenge: when 5,000 - 7,000 extras simultaneously performed a large-scale battle scene, they could not hear his instructions clearly from the loudspeaker. Moreover, having to use an interpreter from Vietnamese to Hindi also made the actors' actions slow and not as desired. To overcome this, Tuan came up with a unique solution: using "command flags" to signal, similar to the traditional Vietnamese chess game. Specifically, he stood on the hood of a bus, waving a red flag, at which point the villains would attack and the blue side would defend. With a scale of up to 3,000 people on each side, this was the only way for him to control this large-scale scene.

An action scene with about 7,000 extras participating, directed by Thanh Tuan. Photo: Lu Dac Long

Mr. Tuan shared: "After the film was completed, the big scenes in the film received good feedback from both the audience and experts. That success came from the resonance and support of director Peter Hien, teacher Lu Dac Long, the Vietnamese and Indian stunt teams. I am happy and proud to have contributed to that success." To date, Phan Huynh Thanh Tuan has made a strong mark in India by participating in directing action and acting in about 30 films.

Talking about his student Tuan "acrobatic", journalist and stuntman Lu Dac Long said: "Phan Huynh Thanh Tuan is an acrobatic master and has a third-degree black belt in karate. Tuan brought me a pleasant surprise. He is the first stuntman in Vietnam to direct actions, train the main actor, and assemble the action routine for a big battle in an Indian blockbuster epic." ( continued )

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vo-su-viet-huan-luyen-5000-dien-vien-quan-chung-an-do-185250729002642475.htm