'No AI Or VFX Used': Sanjay Dutt's Reel Wife Dissha Pardeshi Recalls 12-Hour Underwater Shoot In Raja Shivaji

Riteish Deshmukh’s Raja Shivaji hit theatres on May 1, and since then, it has been enjoying a smooth ride at the box office, drawing steady footfall and positive word-of-mouth from audiences across the country. The film, based on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, stars Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Vidya Balan, Bhagyashree, and Genelia Deshmukh in important roles. Sanjay, after the massive success of Dhurandhar 2, was seen essaying the role of Afzal Khan. Recently, in an interview, actress Dissha Pardeshi, who played one of the wives of Afzal Khan in the film, spoke about the challenging underwater sequence. She recalled a tough 12-hour shoot.

In Raja Shivaji, there is a sequence where Afzal Khan kills his wives by strangling

them and then has their bodies thrown into the water, tied to stones. Recently, while speaking to Zoom, Dissha Pardeshi revealed that the scene was performed without a body double and also without the use of AI or VFX. She also said that Riteish Deshmukh, as the director, made her feel comfortable while this particular scene was being shot. The actress also added that the casting director first asked her if she knew how to swim.

She said, “We can enact a death scene easily, but underwater was something I had never done before, and I was looking forward to doing it. Normally, when a person is drowning, he/she will try to come up to the surface. This time, I had to act as if I were drowning.” Dissha further revealed that she underwent underwater training before filming the death scene.

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The actress added, “A dedicated team ensured that we could perform underwater without the oxygen mask. We did a 12-hour shift and remained underwater to practice. It was scary because after all, it is water. Unfortunately, it was raining incessantly on the shoot day. During the shoot, I was underwater, and after stepping out, it was raining. It was difficult, but adventurous. I learnt a lot during the sequence.”

Further talking about Riteish, she said, “Just before the cameras rolled, Riteish sir came to me and asked if I could jump into the well from a height of 10 to 12 feet. He said body doubles were ready if I weren’t comfortable. When your director is approachable and helpful, shooting challenging scenes becomes less stressful. His trust gave me confidence. We did not use duplicates, VFX, and AI to create that scene.”