'Fauji woh desh sambhalta hain, border sambhalta hain, hum shehar sambhalte hain (Soldiers protect the country, the border, we protect the city).'
"We have seen films on the police forces and faujis but never on firefighters. Internationally, you may have seen, but in India, we have not made it," says Director Rahul Dholakia, as he promotes his cinematic portrayal of the fire department with Agni.
Touted as India's first film on firefighters, Agni is backed by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment and stars Pratik Gandhi, Divyenndu, Saiyami Kher, Sai Tamhankar, Udit Arora and Jitendra Joshi.
The National Award winner returns to director's chair eight years after his 2017 film Raees, which starred Shah Rukh Khan and Mahira Khan. Dholakia is notable for writing and directing gritty dramas like Parzania and Lamhaa.
"When I was doing research, once I met a firefighter and he said, 'Fauji jo hain, woh desh sambhalta hain, border sambhalta hain, hum shehar sambhalte hain (Soldiers protect the country, the border, we protect the city). In Agni, we are talking about the lives of firefighters. We should respect them a lot more than we already do," adds Dholakia at the film's trailer launch.
Pratik Gandhi plays a firefighter in Mumbai.
Divyenndu plays his brother-in-law, who is a policeman.
The action-packed trailer shows several parts of the city being engulfed by flames and it is up to the fire fighters to save the city from the danger.
The trailer also shows the rift between Pratik and Divyenndu's characters, which might be the central conflict of the film.
Interestingly, Agni reunites the two actors after the comic Madgaon Express, which was also produced by Excel.
"We shot this film first (Agni). The friendship we had during this film was probably seen in that film (Madgaon Express). There is a banter of friendship and enmity between us here, and it's more fun," says Prateik.
Did Pratik take acting cues from Divyenndu? Watch their fun banter in this video.
Agni, says Farhan Akhtar, is more than just an action film as it also talks about the personal turmoil the families of firefighters go through.
"This is not just an action movie. The beating heart here is the drama of the film. We know there is this bravery, courage and sacrifice but there is also bravery and courage and sacrifice shown at home by the families of the firefighters," he says.
"The cast has, of course, done an incredible job, but apart from them, all the firefighters in the film are actual firefighters who came and worked with us," adds Farhan.
WATCH: Sai Tamhankar says she is "Agni ka Phool" as she explains her character in this video.
Saiyami Kher said the process of becoming a firefighter in Agni was 'very exciting" for her as she got to learn new things.
"When the teaser came out, there were so many comments that said 'arrey, isko filmi mat banao, female firefighters hote nahi hai.' It is our lack of knowledge that we don't know that the fire department has female firefighters. Even I was unaware of a lot of things about the fire department, so this film was a big learning for me," says Saiyami.
Jitendra Joshi, above, centre, was "ashamed" that he never heard stories about firefighters in his childhood.
"Whenever we see a soldier or policeman on the street, we tend to salute them. I hope that after this film, people will salute firefighters as well," Joshi says, drawing applause from the audience.
WATCH: 'Anacondas' on the sets of Agni? Jitendra recounts his experience, which takes a hilarious turn!
Agni premieres on Amazon Prime Video on December 6.
