‘Rustom’ director Tinu Suresh Desai, the critically-acclaimed filmmaker, is eagerly awaiting the release of his highly-anticipated Pooja Entertainment’s rescue thriller, ‘Mission Raniganj.’ Beyond the intriguing plot of the film, which revolves around a crucial rescue mission in Raniganj, Tinu Desai sheds light on the real challenges he and his team faced during the movie’s production.
‘Mission Raniganj’ is a film depicting a coal mine accident that sent shockwaves through the nation and the world. The film narrates the relentless efforts of the rescue team led by the valiant Jaswant Singh Gill (portrayed by Akshay Kumar). To ensure that the visuals portrayed the authentic and relatable essence of this tragic incident, Tinu Desai and his dedicated team embarked on a remarkable endeavor: they dug a hole that plunged 30 to 40 feet deep into the earth.
Interestingly, ‘Mission Raniganj’ marks Tinu’s second collaboration with Akshay after the superhit ‘Rustom’ that got the superstar a National award.
The reason behind this ambitious undertaking was to allow the actors to genuinely experience the pain and suffocation that real miners endured while trapped inside the coal mine. This immersion in the physical challenges faced by the miners was expected to translate into a more convincing and empathetic portrayal on the silver screen. Instead of creating an upward standing set on ground (which is much easier to execute & shoot), the team chose to dug a 35-40 foot deep hole, which became more challenging & realistic task.
Elaborating, filmmaker Tinu Desai stated, “It was a challenging film to shoot, primarily because a significant portion was filmed on location. Given the film’s subject matter, our goal was to maintain authenticity and relatability in the backdrop and setting. As a result, we collectively decided to excavate a hole underground, reaching depths of around 30 to 40 feet, resembling just the 1/10th portion of an actual coal mine.”
He continued, “The most daunting task was to recreate a set that authentically resembled a coal mine from that era. Additionally, we aimed to evoke the genuine sense of suffocation experienced by the trapped miners during the tragic event. We provided the actors with the directive to immerse themselves in the same conditions as real miners. I’m thankful to Vashuji, Jackky, Deepshikha & everyone at Pooja Entertainment for facilitating the necessary resources to execute this meticulous mining work while ensuring the safety of all our crew members and actors.”
‘Mission Raniganj’ promises to not only tell a compelling story but also to immerse the audience in the gripping reality of the miners’ ordeal, thanks to this ambitious and unconventional approach to filmmaking.
Starring Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra, Kumud Mishra, Pavan Malhotra, Ravi Kishan, Varun Badola, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Rajesh Sharma, Virendra Saxena, Shishir Sharma, Ananth Mahadevan, Jameel Khan, Sudhir Pandey, Bachan Pachera, Mukesh Bhatt and Omkar Das Manikpuri, ‘Mission Raniganj’ is an ode to the resilience, determination, and valor of the human spirit and engineering minds. The film also marks Tinu Suresh Desai’s next thriller after Rustom, which won him massive critical and commercial acclaim.
Produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh and Ajay Kapoor, ‘Mission Raniganj’ is directed by Tinu Suresh Desai, Music by Jjust Music. The coal mine accident that shook the nation and the world, and the relentless efforts of the rescue team led by Jaswant Singh Gill, will be released in theaters on October 6th 2023.
