One of the most talked-about moments in Avatar: Fire and Ash – the confrontation between Neytiri and Varang – was never planned in the film’s early drafts, director James Cameron revealed in a recent conversation
with filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli. The clash, now a highlight of the movie, emerged organically during the creative process.
Rajamouli, reflecting on the film, noted the dramatic evolution of Neytiri’s character. “Here in Fire and Ash the moment you see her you know that her heart is full of hatred, pain of losing her son. You feel bad for her and that is not how you want to see her,” he said, while talking about how the film presents Neytiri in a darker, more emotionally complex light than in previous installments.
He also spoke about the immediate tension introduced by Varang. “Within 15-20 minutes, we get to see Varang, and you immediately know these two women are going to come together. From that moment I am just waiting how are these women going to come together,” Rajamouli added.
Cameron shared that the showdown was a late addition. “It seems pretty obvious that Neytiri and Varang should meet in battle in the first attack of the Ash People,” he said. “It wasn’t in the script.” The director explained that such moments often emerge while exploring the story with the cast. “Sometimes it takes me going through the telling of the story with my cast over a period of time to find things that other people would consider obvious in retrospect,” he noted.
As Varang’s character developed, Cameron sought a way to make her visually and thematically distinct. “One day I was sitting there and I said, you know, Varang really needs an interesting creature that’s different from everyone else—and that wasn’t in the script either. Then I said, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be great if Neytiri and Varang fought in the middle?’ Everybody was like, ‘Oh, it’s not in the budget, it’s not in the script,’” he recalled.
Despite initial concerns, Cameron was convinced the sequence would elevate the film. “I’m like, ‘No, but it’s going to be great… they could fight like two eagles.’” What began as an unplanned idea ultimately became one of the most intense and emotionally charged sequences in Avatar: Fire and Ash.
The film is currently running in theatres across India, available in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
