Aimee McDaniel: There’s a fire in their eyes that I don’t see in American films

For the hockey sequences in 'Gold', her first directorial since the 2012 psychological-horror 'Talaash', director Reema Kagti commissioned acclaimed Hollywood sports coordinator Aimee McDaniel, who has worked on Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-nominated sports-drama'Invictus', and the Jon Hamm, Suraj Sharma-starrer 'Million Dollar Arm'. Meanwhile, former international field hockey player Michael Nobbs worked closely with the film’s team as a coach.Nobbs has also coached the Indian men’s national field hockey team between 2011 -13.

Aimee informs that even though this is her first Indian project, she had been to India for 'Million Dollar Arm', which revolved around a sports agent who stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball, and was shot in India, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. “I had spent most of my time in New Delhi and Mumbai and got to travel in local trains, visit the Taj Mahal. So, I was familiar with the place, but I’d never choreographed field hockey. After reading the script and a 45-minute skype call with Reema, I could see her passion for the project and agreed to be a part of the film,” Aimee said.
While she did her homework before arriving in India (which included watching Shimit Amin’s Shah Rukh Khan-starrer sports-drama 'Chak De! India'), Aimee reveals that the first thing she did after that was getting in touch with the Indian coach on the film. “Everyone knows the outcome of the match, but my job was to tell the characters’ story through the game and Reema was a big support in helping me achieve that. The actors trained for months before they began shooting and I choreographed the sequences keeping their strengths in mind — like someone was a good defender, while the other was good at goalkeeping. All of them kept practicing with the hired England players till they got it right,” she said, refusing to name a favourite from the players, including Kunal Kapoor, Amit Sadh and Vineet Kumar Singh, among others.
Speaking of her experience of working on an Indian film, in this case produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar,Farhan Akhtar,she points out, “There’s a fire in their eyes that I don’t see often in American films. They were harder on themselves than I was on them.”
Meanwhile, Michael trained with the actors for six months, which would begin at 6 am. “Hockey is a complex game and it takes a lot to be an adequate player, so I spent a lot of time helping them understand the sport, it’s nuances and postures. Kunal was fantastic and was a keen learner who constantly asked questions. Even the other players gave their hundred percent,” he said.
Aimee said she has become a fan of the crew’s work ethic after her six-week stint, and is all praise for the film’s lead, Akshay Kumar. “We’d discuss his reactions depending on the action that we had choreographed. He is a really nice and funny guy,” she said, while Michael adds, “He is an outstanding actor and an outstanding person.”