Bonny and Koushani talk to The Telegraph about the action film Jaanbaaz, which releases on October 25. Excerpts:

Tell us about the characters you play…

Bonny: I play two characters basically — Bikram and Jeet. Vikram is the henchman of a coal Mafiosi and so I have a different look. This character sports a tilak… soorma. Jeet is the good guy, an introvert. He plays a bodyguard to Koushani. It was tough playing two characters.

Koushani: I play an IPS officer. She wanted to become a cop because of the death of her brother who, too, was a cop. This officer later comes into contact with Bonny, who becomes her bodyguard. Then a liking develops between them. Then there are lots of twists and turns in the plot. It’s a very extrovert character. It, in a way, also centres around women empowerment.

Tell us about the plot...

Bonny: This particular man works under a coal mafiosi but he decides to quit his line of work when he realises it’s wrong. He goes to the city but circumstances are such that he has to come back. We are calling this film an action-drama.

Koushani: It’s not a love story. Not much of a romantic angle has been explored here. There’s a lot of action involved. My character gets posted in a colliery area where the plot thickens. She gets to know about the death of her brother. It’s a very fast-paced film.

How was the shooting experience in Dhanbad?

Bonny: The area where we shot was in a colliery. And it used to be around 43/44°C then. Most of the fight sequences were shot there. And it was difficult owing to the searing heat. People used to get headaches often, fall ill.

Koushani: It was amazing for me as I had all my action scenes there. Usually women actors don’t get too much of an opportunity to fight alongside the hero. Here I had the chance to actually play an important role, which is very important to me.

Tell us about the action sequences...

Koushani: I didn’t use a dummy. I gave my 100 per cent to the action scenes. It was over 40°C there and to add to our discomfort, we actually went down 180 feet into the mines. It was tough there… as the place is not really safe.

Bonny, this is the first time you are working with your father. Tell us how you felt.

Bonny: I have assisted my dad before but never worked as an actor under him. He knows exactly how long a scene should be… no extra shots. It was very comfortable for us actors too. Also, he does the entire editing himself… he is very sorted that way. Hence we used to pack up on schedule. He believes in giving enough rest to the actors and crew to come back fresh next morning.

This is your fifth film with each other...

Bonny: This was a bit different, dad was directing it, Koushani was my co-star, so it felt like family time. I know we two share a great chemistry. If I give my hundred per cent, so will she. We are very focused when on set. We put the character ahead of our relationship. We have done a lot of rom-coms but this one is different. We haven’t played such characters before.

Koushani: It felt different because of the character. We come across as a different pair this time, not the usual Bonny-Koushani pairing. This is more serious… I was pitted against him too. So it’s different really.

Any memorable incident from the set?

Bonny: During one of the song sequences, a drone was being used. There was a beehive nearby and the sound of it infuriated the bees I think. They came down in swarms to attack the crew. Some of them were stung too. It seemed funny from a distance but it wasn’t.

Koushani: Yes, I remember that incident. I saw people running helter-skelter. I couldn’t understand at first but later I realised it. For the next one hour, shooting was stopped.