How Dhurandhar Built Karachi's Lyari On A 6-Acre Plot 6,000 Km Away In Bangkok

The film *Dhurandhar*, which has been playing in theaters since December 5, transports audiences to Lyari, a densely populated area of Karachi, Pakistan, between 1999 and 2009. The movie, featuring Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, and Sara Arjun, depicts Lyari as a volatile region plagued by terrorism, gang warfare, drug trafficking, police intervention, and an arms race.

What's remarkable is that this depiction of Lyari wasn't filmed on location. Instead, the filmmakers constructed the entire neighborhood on a six-acre set in Bangkok, Thailand, roughly 6,000 kilometers from Karachi.

Saini S Johray, *Dhurandhar's* production designer, discussed the complex process of designing and constructing this ambitious set in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India.

Designing Lyari: A Three-Month Endeavor

Johray explained that the design phase in Thailand took three months. His team of 15 designers spent those months breaking down the project, from March to May. Location scouting occurred in June, and filming commenced in July. Saini noted the demanding pace, saying, "We would work 12 hours a day because it's a very vast film."

He described *Dhurandhar* as one of the most challenging projects of his career, citing the sheer number of locations. "How I calculate films as a production designer is that, let's say we shoot for 60 days and there are 100 locations in that film - which means, on average, we will shoot at two locations per day. But here, it was four locations a day! There was a lot of designing and detailed work to do, as Aditya was very clear that we can't do anything that looks fake."

Extensive Research for Authenticity

Saini emphasized the in-depth research that went into accurately recreating Lyari. This included studying the characters' appearances, their homes, and the area's history and geography. Even the specific types of weapons used were carefully considered.

Saini illustrated the importance of local context: "To give you a local context, a don living in Dharavi would be different from one living in Mira Road."

He noted the difficulty in obtaining visual references, stating, "The internet is also limited; you can't see how someone's house would look from the inside. So we relied on newspaper cuttings, old videos, and news to understand the geography of the particular area of Pakistan. Then, finally, we created a six-acre set in Thailand. We also built a massive set on Madh Island."

Why Bangkok? Logistical Hurdles and Weather Concerns

Saini addressed the decision to build the set in Thailand rather than Mumbai, citing logistical issues and weather constraints.

"It was impossible to shoot the scenes in Mumbai with the stars we have. We wanted a huge six-acre land and a studio wasn't possible," he said. He added that the July filming dates coincided with the monsoon season in Mumbai, making outdoor set construction impractical.

After considering various locations, Thailand proved to be the best choice. According to Saini, "We had done recces in different countries, but we finally arrived in Thailand. It was the perfect landscape for us to build a larger-than-life set."