'Thalapathy Vijay's Leo directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and featuring music composed by Anirudh Ravichander is gearing up for a massive worldwide release starting October 19. In that light, one of the costume designers in the highly-anticipated film, Praveen Raja, has now in an exclusive interview with Galatta opened up on the difficulties and challenges faced by the team during the shooting of the action sequences in Kashmir, while also sharing details about the attire that was worn by the artistes to combat the chilly weather.
When asked about the challenges of shooting Leo in Kashmir, Praveen Raja said, "It was a big task. When we arrived there, the temperatures were anywhere between 15-18 degrees. It was peak winter. Since the shooting had to begin in the wee hours, everything in the production had to be ready like food for everyone and, hence, they would have to be up early at 3 a.m. And, everything would be worked out from that time and the food preparation will also begin around the same time." He continued, "Everything was tough at the shooting spot. Anything you try to hold, you'd feel a piercing feeling if you don't wear your gloves. Many people would slip and fall down easily because of the snow. If there's snowfall, you won't be able to shoot. And, shooting the stunt scenes was tough for everyone, including the people in the camera department, for whom it was a huge task actually. It was a long journey."
Upon being queried about witnessing the shooting of the action sequences in Leo shot amidst the hilly and snowy land terrain, Praveen stated, "It was a big task during the shooting because the stunt artistes would slip at many places. If you wanted something, you wouldn't be able to purchase it immediately in that zone. Everything was planned out well ahead during the pre-production phase. Otherwise, it would have been a big task. And, when it comes to the stunts, several factors were taken into account like changing the harness and bringing the cranes to the sets, including managing the junior artistes and the crowds." Speaking about the attire to combat the cold weather in Kashmir, Praveen said, "We fixed everything at the beginning itself like the distribution of the jackets, including warmers for everyone to wear inside their clothes. There would be backup costumes too in case any stunt artistes required anything and everything would always be well-planned. It would be a task for us if someone was big in size, but that was a rare scenario."
Watch costume designer Praveen Raja talk about 'Thalapathy' Vijay's Leo in the video below:
