'Alpha is going to be a massive hit'; Says Jawan & Pathan's Action Director Craig Macrae

Craig Macrae is a distinguished action director and stunt coordinator with over two decades of experience in the film and television industry. He is renowned for designing and executing high-octane action sequences that blend creativity with technical precision. ​He has worked on films like Jawaan, Pathan and even Mad Max: Fury Road.

In an exclusive interview with PopDiaries, Macrae talked his journey in the film industry and his experiences working in Bollywood. Macrare talked about his journey in the film industry, “I think the film industry is the modern version of the circus. So initially I got into the film industry to be an actor. I wanted to perform, I loved physical performance and everything, and I wanted to be a storyteller. I initially got into the industry as an actor. When I started working as an actor, I have a very strong physical presence. I'm a very large man, and I did a lot of different martial arts and a lot of physical things as a youngster. People said, ‘Hey, you'd fit the stunt department very well’. And I got into the stunt side of things as a stunt performer, initially, I loved that. Did a lot of very cool stuff, and I doubled a lot of cool actors, and did projects like Black Sails and some of my first Bollywood movies were the ones with John Abraham and Vidyut Jamwal commander two force, which was great fun. And then I naturally sort of moved into the fight choreography side of things, to become part of the storytelling of this using action as a medium, and then from there, it just sort of naturally progressed into me coordinating stunts, and then eventually becoming an action director and a designer.”

When asked whether stunt doubles and action directors should get more credit for their work, he said, “I think a lot of the film crew as a whole doesn't get enough credit. Obviously, audiences go to see the big stars. But, I think that a lot of people who do a lot of very hard work behind the scenes often are overlooked. It would be nice to see a lot more appreciation for the artistry and the hard work that goes into to making films from various departments and different people, whether it's costume or whether it's a set design or anything like that.”

Macrae shared his experience of working with Shah Rukh Khan as well, “I've had a journey and I have been very lucky to have met a lot of very inspiring people, very skilled people from all over the world. And the first name that comes to the mind is Shah Rukh Khan. He's an incredible person to work with, he really is a role model. He's a very wise man and a very kind human being, very successful as well, very hardworking, but overall, just a lovely human being. He's one of those people that really stands out for me and has inspired me a lot as well.”

Craig has also been a part of the Alia Bhatt and Sharvari starrer Alpha, “Alpha took a large amount of energy and time, so most of last year was actually dedicated just to Alpha. So that movie is going to be a massive hit, and I'm sure of it because of the amount of energy that was put into that film from all sides ours as well.”  He added, “Alia and Sharvari have worked very hard to be able to do a lot of the fight choreography themselves, and to do the stunts that I'll allow them to do. You know that they're very good at performing all of those. But when it comes to the very big, very dangerous stuff, obviously we have stunt doubles who are the professionals.”