Zayed jumps out of eighth storey, Lakhia petrified

Nov 11, 2007 Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, Nov 12 (IANS) Director Apoorva Lakhia and actor Zayed Khan had a heated argument on location while shooting the espionage thriller "Mission Istanbul" in Turkey because the latter was hell-bent on doing his stunts himself.

"He (Zayed) wanted to do a risky stunt himself. I refused. We rehearsed it with a double. But at the last minute Zayed was adamant. He insisted on doing it even as I protested," Lakhia told IANS from Istanbul.

As the whole unit in Istanbul watched with mouths open, Zayed crashed through a glass window and plunged to the street down below from the eighth floor of a high-rise into a truck on the road.

Lakhia was aghast. He said: "If I had my way I'd have definitely not allowed it. We're in a foreign land. And, on top of it, my producer Suniel Shetty's partner Shhabir Boxwallah had to rush back to Mumbai because his mother was ill. Almost the entire unit is composed of young people - Zayed, Viveik Oberoi etc. I've to take production decisions which I hate."

Fortunately, Suniel returned soon.

"I could relax then. Anna can take responsibility for daredevilry like Zayed's."

Lakhia underestimates himself, but Suniel shows full confidence in him and appreciates the good work he did in his absence.

"In eight days he canned some of the best action scenes we've ever seen in our cinema. Plus, he's sending back footage for me to see constantly," said Suniel who returned to Istanbul with his wife and kids and celebrated Diwali there.

If youngsters' daredevil acts keep Lakhia on his toes, fast approaching winter worries him too.

"As winter approaches the days out here are getting shorter. By November end it will be dark by 4 p.m. I need to complete all my outdoor shooting as soon as possible. So far the shooting has been awesome."