Actor Sidharth Malhotra lost weight and underwent rigorous training in close-quarter combat to play the “cool commando” Arun Katyal in the upcoming action thriller Yodha, he said in a behind-the-scenes video shared by the makers on Monday.

“I lost weight for it. Got a different kind of training. It started with a lot of prep of just understanding what will look good on my body. We trained a lot in hand-to-hand combat with Craig and his team,” said the Shershaah actor in the video.

Action director Craig Macrae, known for choreographing action for blockbusters like Pathaan and Jawan, said using knife techniques in confined spaces was new for Sidharth but the actor was “easy to teach”. The 39-year-old’s movements with the weapon were “incredible”, he added.

Applauding Sidharth for performing his own stunts in the film, director Sagar Ambre said it was “a rarity among actors these days”.

In the video, Sidharth also spoke about the film and how it was different from other Hindi movies.

“Yodha is a concept action film. It is something we have not seen in Hindi cinema,” pointed out Sidharth right at the beginning of the video. Interwoven with clips of action sequences from the film unfolding to the beats of a pulsating background score, the BTS video also sheds light on the different shades of Sidharth’s off-duty soldier.

In the video, Sidharth revealed how he has never played a character like Arun Katyal before. Arun’s skills and his personal journey make for a unique character in his prime who comes in and takes over a challenging situation, explained Sidharth.

The Indian Police Force actor went on to talk about the storyline of the film, which he claimed would show the journey of his character. “It’s just by accident that he (Arun) has been put in the middle of this very interesting hijack/terrorist organisation and he has to save people,” said Sidharth, adding that the creation of a special task force for the film has enabled them to “play around” with the action sequences.

The video concluded with Sidharth’s comment on his character. “I think it’s a very interesting bharpoor (complete) character in my opinion,” said the actor, expressing his excitement about the upcoming action thriller.

Produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Shashank Khaitan, Yodha also features Disha Patani and Raashii Khanna in key roles.

Yodha is slated to hit the theatres on March 15.