Entertainment: Dog's role was scripted before Akshay Kumar's character

The dog's role was scripted before Akshay's (Kumar) character. When we narrated the story to him, Akshay quipped, 'Entertainment' is your directorial debut and you're taking such a big panga with me,'" Sajid laughs.
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Farhad, the other half of the duo Sajid-Farhad, says that they were indeed taking a panga, given that they were terrified of canines.“But a five-day sequence with 60 dogs of different breeds, brought in to stage a mock fight with Akshay, banished our fears. This film was our Khatron Ke Khiladi," he chuckles.
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The upcoming comic caper revolves around a man struggling for two square meals, till one day he becomes a millionaire thanks to a rich daddy in Bangkok. “Since the film is set in the Thai capital, we went looking for our dog there and came across this camp which housed a 100 of them in the heart of the city. Owners leave their pets there for three to six months to be schooled," informs Sajid who along with Farhad, checked out 60 dogs before both agreed that their first choice was their best choice. That's how Junior came into the picture.
What set the golden retriever apart was his 'human' face which projected real emotions and his camera friendly nature, thanks to the advertisements he had done earlier.The duo gave Junior's Thai trainer, Lark, a list of stunts, when they were in Bangkok for the recce and Junior was ready by the time they started filming. As Lark does not speak English, it was Sajid-Farhad who explained the training process to Mirror.
“He was trained with a simple green tennis ball. It could make Junior look up, glance sideways and follow the movement of the bouncing ball with his eyes," marvels Farhad, remembering how perfectly he carried off the scene where both Akshay and he warily circle each other with anger in their eyes. Still it took the four-legged actor four days to get acclimatised to the sets. On the fifth day, Sajid-Farhad decided to give Junior a break and shot with Akshay and Dalip Tahil instead. “But he was impatient to face the camera and every time we called 'action', he would come jumping into the frame," recalls Farhad.
Junior was every inch the star and was pampered to the hilt. Producer Ramesh Taurani, a dog lover himself, rented out a centrally air-conditioned mansion for his 'hero', so he could keep his cool. “He was called Junior but he was the senior-most member of the crew who had two attendants, his trainer, a vet and a good-looking nurse at his service 24x7," laughs Sajid. “The actors, including Akshay, Tamanna (Bhatia), Johnny bhai (Lever) and Mithunda (Chakrabort)y rehearsed their scenes before Junior was called on the sets so he didn't have to wait."
For a scene Junior had to climb down from the terrace, using passing vehicles as a ladder. His trainer dressed in blue (so that he could be edited out later) accompanied him to ensure he was not injured. And once he landed on the street below, he got a welcome kiss from two beautiful ladies which made the rest of the crew rather jealous.
To ensure that the dog was not overworked, they got a duplicate called Litchi who did all the running, jumping and on one occasion when Junior was unwell, even gave a frontal shot. “They look like twins and I can confidently say that no one will be able to spot the difference," Sajid says. Junior also has a girlfriend in the film called Po Chai whom the unit fondly rechristened Kai Po Che. A silky ball of white fur, she is a belly dancer who wowed Akshay with an exhibition of her killer moves.
The unit made sure to take every permission and precaution while shooting with the dogs. Their working style so impressed Union Cabinet Minister Maneka Gandhi when she came for the trailer launch, that she urged the director duo to use Indian breeds next time. “The message of our film is love your pet and it will entertain you for life. If it is a dog it will be a loyal friend too. If after seeing the film even one person adopts a dog, our mission will be fulfilled," asserts Farhad who along with Sajid is now trying to persuade their respective families to let them bring a dog home.
Watch: Entertainment Trailer