In the bustling heart of Mumbai, production designer Rupin Suchak undertook the monumental task of recreating Pakistan for ‘Dhurandhar 2’. Faced with a ticking clock, he executed a seamless handover mid-production, culminating in the construction of an expansive six-acre set portraying the Lyari neighborhood in Bangkok.
Production designer Rupin Suchak helped turn parts of Mumbai into Pakistan for ‘Dhurandhar 2’ while racing against the film’s release deadline. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Suchak explained how the team rebuilt key locations, managed a difficult mid-project handover, and delivered some of the costliest sequences in the two-part film. His account highlights the scale of the work that shaped ‘Dhurandhar’ behind the scenes.
‘Dhurandhar 2’ production design
NDTV reported that Suchak joined the two-part ‘Dhurandhar’ saga as additional production designer after production designer Saini S Johray exited the project. He said the film was shot as one connected process, with parts of the second installment tied closely to the first.“It was an integrated shoot. It was not like an independent movie shoot happening all together for part two. So, a few portions in part two have been borrowed from the part one shoot.”He added, “The first part was done by another production designer who had to leave and didn’t continue on the second part. We took the handover and we started executing the second part of it somewhere around midway because it was all a mix of both the parts.”
Expensive sets and Mumbai turned into Pakistan
Mounted on a reported USD 33.6 million, ‘Dhurandhar’ was shot in Bangkok, Thailand, and in Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Amritsar. One of the biggest builds was the Lyari neighborhood set, spread across six acres in Bangkok.“The Lyari set creation was one of the most expensive creations which we have done within the film… Also, the set where Arjun Rampal’s father is sitting and the whole bathtub sequence was also an expensive sequence.”Suchak said the short timeline pushed the budget higher. “Either the time or the money has to be calibrated. Since the time was short, the money was higher in execution. And, we did that. We were racing against time to complete that as we were closing on to the second part’s release, and hence we had to complete that.”He also said the team had to rebuild a key street sequence in Mumbai’s Film City after problems at another location. “We actually opted for a full dress-up of a location in Mumbai, and due to some technical and permission issues, we were not able to continue. So we had to set up that. So we set that up in Film City entirely. That whole ambulance scene with Sanjay Dutt in the streets was also shot in Film City.”Suchak further revealed that the team shot near Bora Bazar in Mumbai and transformed the busy market area for Pakistan scenes. He said Sunday-only access made the work especially difficult, adding another challenge to an already tight production schedule before release.
