Saif Ali Khan reveals the ‘Haiwaan’ scene that left him exhausted for 2 days

• Saif plays a visually impaired martial artist in Haiwaan.
• His character faces a brutal attack before fighting back.
• The action scene used no duplicates or CGI.
• Saif says he needed two days to recover.
• The actor suffered cuts and bruises during filming.

Saif Ali Khan is no stranger to action roles, but his latest performance came with an unusual physical and emotional challenge.

In Haiwaan, the actor plays a visually impaired character who knows martial arts and finds himself at the centre of a violent confrontation. The sequence required him to perform the action without the usual safety net of body doubles or heavy visual effects.

Speaking exclusively to Pinkvilla, Saif opened up about what it took to film the sequence. His comments reveal just how demanding the shoot became, particularly because his character's blindness added another layer of difficulty to the physical performance.

Directed by Priyadarshan, Haiwaan is an adaptation of the filmmaker's 2016 Malayalam film Oppam. The film also reunites Saif with Akshay Kumar after 18 years.

“It was utterly exhausting”

The sequence begins with Saif's character being attacked. He is kicked, slapped and tortured before eventually retaliating.

"It's a scene with a great build-up because the characters torture and bash up my character, kicking and slapping him. As an audience, you want him to retaliate, which he eventually does," Saif told Pinkvilla.

The fight was choreographed by stunt master Silva. According to Saif, the team wanted the sequence to feel as raw as possible.

"Silva really well choreographed that fight, and there were no special effects added to it; there were no duplicates. There's very little fakery in these scenes. The room has broken glass everywhere. It was very raw and kind of violent, and it was utterly exhausting because after that I had to lie down for two days."

For an actor playing a visually impaired character, the physical demands were even more complicated. Saif had to sell the movements of someone who could not see while simultaneously performing an intense martial-arts fight.

“There’s very little fakery”

The actor said there was no CGI or harness-assisted action to soften the sequence.

"I thought I was alright but I was exhausted because that is how intense the action scene was. It's wasn't CGI or harness-backed action scenes; the fight scene is just raw. It was really lots of fun to perform,” Khan reveals.

The decision to keep the action practical appears to have made the sequence considerably more demanding.

Saif said the cast did not undergo extensive special training or workshops for the film. Instead, he rehearsed the fight with the stunt director before filming.

The set itself added another danger. Broken furniture and shattered glass were scattered across the room after the fight choreography was completed.

“Luckily, not too many injuries”

Despite the intensity, Saif managed to avoid serious injury.

"I remember, after the scene was shot, there was a lot of glass pieces on the floor from the broken photo frames and cupboards being smashed," he recalled.

"Luckily, not too many injuries, but there are always some cuts and bruises. However, the scene lands well in the film owing to the plot because you want him to bash those people who are being up after they've been so bad to him, so it's really nicely done. Silva is a master," Saif added.

The physical exhaustion, cuts and bruises underline the risks involved in making the sequence.

Haiwaan stars Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan, with Boman Irani, Sayami Kher and Shriya Pilgaonkar in key roles. The film is scheduled for release on September 11.

For Saif, however, the action sequence was more than another fight scene. It demanded physical endurance, precise choreography and the ability to convincingly portray a character fighting without sight — all while working in an environment filled with broken glass and real impact.