‘After This Film, People Will Salute Firefighters’

‘Fauji
woh
desh
sambhalta
hain,
border

sambhalta
hain,
hum
shehar
sambhalte
hain
(Soldiers
protect
the
country,
the
border,
we
protect
the
city).’

“We
have
seen
films
on
the
police
forces
and

faujis
but
never
on
firefighters.
Internationally,
you
may
have
seen,
but
in
India,
we
have
not
made
it,”
says
Director
Rahul
Dholakia,
as
he
promotes
his
cinematic
portrayal
of
the
fire
department
with

Agni.

Touted
as
India’s
first
film
on
firefighters,

Agni
is
backed
by
Ritesh
Sidhwani
and
Farhan
Akhtar’s
Excel
Entertainment
and
stars
Pratik
Gandhi,
Divyenndu,
Saiyami
Kher,
Sai
Tamhankar,
Udit
Arora
and
Jitendra
Joshi.

The
National
Award
winner
returns
to
director’s
chair
eight
years
after
his
2017
film

Raees,
which
starred
Shah
Rukh
Khan
and
Mahira
Khan.
Dholakia
is
notable
for
writing
and
directing
gritty
dramas
like

Parzania
and

Lamhaa.

“When
I
was
doing
research,
once
I
met
a
firefighter
and
he
said,
‘Fauji
jo
hain,
woh
desh
sambhalta
hain,
border

sambhalta
hain,
hum
shehar
sambhalte
hain
(Soldiers
protect
the
country,
the
border,
we
protect
the
city).
In

Agni,
we
are
talking
about
the
lives
of
firefighters.
We
should
respect
them
a
lot
more
than
we
already
do,”
adds
Dholakia
at
the
film’s
trailer
launch.

Pratik
Gandhi
plays
a
firefighter
in
Mumbai.

Divyenndu
plays
his
brother-in-law,
who
is
a
policeman.

The
action-packed
trailer
shows
several
parts
of
the
city
being
engulfed
by
flames
and
it
is
up
to
the
fire
fighters
to
save
the
city
from
the
danger.

The
trailer
also
shows
the
rift
between
Pratik
and
Divyenndu’s
characters,
which
might
be
the
central
conflict
of
the
film.

Interestingly,

Agni
reunites
the
two
actors
after
the
comic

Madgaon
Express,
which
was
also
produced
by
Excel.

“We
shot
this
film
first
(Agni).
The
friendship
we
had
during
this
film
was
probably
seen
in
that
film
(Madgaon
Express).
There
is
a
banter
of
friendship
and
enmity
between
us
here,
and
it’s
more
fun,”
says
Prateik.

Did
Pratik
take
acting
cues
from
Divyenndu?
Watch
their
fun
banter
in
this
video.

Agni,
says
Farhan
Akhtar,
is
more
than
just
an
action
film
as
it
also
talks
about
the
personal
turmoil
the
families
of
firefighters
go
through.

“This
is
not
just
an
action
movie.
The
beating
heart
here
is
the
drama
of
the
film.
We
know
there
is
this
bravery,
courage
and
sacrifice
but
there
is
also
bravery
and
courage
and
sacrifice
shown
at
home
by
the
families
of
the
firefighters,”
he
says.

“The
cast
has,
of
course,
done
an
incredible
job,
but
apart
from
them,
all
the
firefighters
in
the
film
are
actual
firefighters
who
came
and
worked
with
us,”
adds
Farhan.

WATCH:
Sai
Tamhankar
says
she
is
“Agni
ka
Phool”
as
she
explains
her
character
in
this
video.

Saiyami
Kher
said
the
process
of
becoming
a
firefighter
in

Agni
was
‘very
exciting”
for
her
as
she
got
to
learn
new
things.

“When
the
teaser
came
out,
there
were
so
many
comments
that
said
‘arrey,
isko
filmi
mat
banao,
female
firefighters

hote
nahi
hai.’
It
is
our
lack
of
knowledge
that
we
don’t
know
that
the
fire
department
has
female
firefighters.
Even
I
was
unaware
of
a
lot
of
things
about
the
fire
department,
so
this
film
was
a
big
learning
for
me,”
says
Saiyami.

Jitendra
Joshi,
above,
centre,
was
“ashamed”
that
he
never
heard
stories
about
firefighters
in
his
childhood.

“Whenever
we
see
a
soldier
or
policeman
on
the
street,
we
tend
to
salute
them.
I
hope
that
after
this
film,
people
will
salute
firefighters
as
well,”
Joshi
says,
drawing
applause
from
the
audience.

WATCH:
‘Anacondas’
on
the
sets
of

Agni?
Jitendra
recounts
his
experience,
which
takes
a
hilarious
turn!

Agni
premieres
on
Amazon
Prime
Video
on
December
6.