How Madhuri Dixit learnt to kick butt

The brief given to me by director Soumik Sen was to design the stunts in a manner that they look both aesthetic as well as realistic," says Kanishka Sharma, who has choreographed the action for the upcoming Madhuri Dixit-Juhi Chawla starrer Gulaab Gang.
Making the fights look realistic meant absolutely no reference points, either from Hollywoood or Hindi cinema. "It couldn't be as gritty as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, neither could it be as suave as the Matrix," he says, adding that he trained Madhuri in rare martial art forms like Shaolin Kungfu, Pekiti Tirsia Kali and Shaolin Chin-na.
"I was taken aback by Madhuri's agility and her pitch-perfect timing, something that is paramount as far as shooting such action sequences go," says Sharma who has trained actors like Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham for films like Don and Goal. 
He equates the enduring action he designs with the beauty of dance, insisting that had it not been for Madhuri's dance background, the shots wouldn't have been filmed as smoothly as they were.
How different it is to train a woman in action as opposed to men? 

 

 "Women understand rhythm and intricate details, while men are always worried about flaunting their physical prowess," Kanishka says. "I remember a scene where Madhuri had to twist a man's arm and kick him hard. I rehearsed with her for a few hours before the shot, but was a little apprehensive. Later, I was shocked at how comfortably she pulled it off. She makes all my otherwise tiring action look effortless on screen."
The training before the film went on the floors lasted for over a month, sometimes stretching up to 30 hours at one go.
"I extensively trained Madhuri in Shaolin Kung Fu, besides stick training, Shaolin joint locking, Kali knife, short stick and of course, close combat."
And what about safety on the set?  

"I was present throughout the shoot to make sure that nothing went wrong and nothing did," Kanishka says with a sense of unmistakable pride.