What was your brief for the film?

In meetings with the film's director, Karan Malhotra, we decided that the fights must be raw and realistic. We did not want actors to go flying - that would have made the fight sequences less believable. The action in Agneepath is old Bollywood action packaged in a new way. It is typical Indianised action.

Did the earlier 'Agneepath' influence you?

No. Though this film is based on the old Agneepath, there are differences. Characters like Rauf Lala are absent in the old movie. Also, the fact that there are two big stars - Sanjay Dutt and Hrithik Roshan - necessitated action sequences that were different from what we saw in the original movie.

Hrithik Roshan has said that this film's action was the toughest in his career. What made it so difficult?

Techniques like cable work have made action easier in Bollywood these days. The fact that Agneepath relied on raw, ground action made it difficult for the actors. Hand-to-hand fights always take a toll on actors, both physically and mentally. Hrithik performed the stunts himself, including the climax scene where he is dragged a long distance over a rocky terrain by the villain.

Some people have found the new 'Agneepath' too violent...

I think people liked the action in the film. There is a nice build-up to the climax and audiences get emotionally involved in the fights. Karan (Malhotra) had made up his mind that there would not be too much blood in the film, so even when people are stabbed, the scene isn't too bloody. As for the hangings, it was a requirement of the plot to drive in all the horror and justify the climax.