20 years ago, the first 8 Vietnamese stuntmen, considered the "elite" in the profession, proficient in 2-3 martial arts and many special skills, set foot in the Indian film capital of Bollywood.
The Pioneers
In the early 1990s, the stunt profession in Vietnam began to take shape and develop strongly, especially in Ho Chi Minh City. At that time, the Ho Chi Minh City Cascadeur Club was considered a regular operating unit, contributing significantly to the development of the action film genre.
Vietnamese stunt team participating in the movie Two-Faced Man in India in 2004: Seated row: Lu Dac Long (left) , Nguyen Huu Duc; standing row, from left to right: Huynh Phu, Quoc Thinh, Ho Hieu, Mr. Raja, Bui Van Hai (Hai Long An ), Tran Nhu Thuc, Phan Huynh Thanh Tuan (Tuan acrobat)
Photo: NVCC
The fact that foreign film crews came to Vietnam to cooperate in production at that time gave Vietnamese stuntmen an international playground right at home. Mr. Lu Dac Long (59 years old), former Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Cascadeur Club, shared: "For us, going abroad to participate in action films was unimaginable, it was like a dream". Because at that time, the film industry did not have much interaction, cooperation or openness like today.
After participating in a number of international cooperation projects in Vietnam such as Goodbye to Ba River (Korea, 1992), Red Pirates (Hong Kong, 1996), and The Quiet American (USA, 2002), it was not until 2003 - 2004 that Vietnamese stuntmen really had the opportunity to go abroad, setting foot in Bollywood (India) - one of the largest film centers in Asia at that time. The person who had great contributions in these pioneering steps was none other than Lu Dac Long.
According to Mr. Long, Mr. Raja - an Indian businessman and film producer who has carried out many projects in Vietnam, is the bridge that brings Vietnamese stuntmen to Bollywood. Mr. Long met Mr. Raja, who worked with the late People's Artist Ly Huynh, when he came to the film set to take photos and report. Then, Peter Hien (an Indian of Vietnamese origin) created a real playground for Vietnamese stuntmen on the Indian film set. Peter Hien is a talented action director in Bollywood, so famous that filmmakers have to book 6 months in advance, even 1-2 years, to invite him. Thanh Nien Newspaper also wrote an article about his miraculous survival after a broken bone accident.
As one of the founding members of the Ho Chi Minh City Cascadeur Club in 1992, along with Le Tien Dung (Dung Li), the late martial artist Thu Van and Le Cong The, Lu Dac Long witnessed the important progress of Vietnamese stuntmen. The first time Vietnamese stuntmen went abroad was in 2003, when they participated in an Indian film filmed in Singapore and Malaysia. After that debut, in 2004, Vietnamese stuntmen went to India to participate in the film Two-faced Man . The group had 8 stuntmen, including Lu Dac Long, Nguyen Quoc Thinh, Phan Huynh Thanh Tuan (Tuan acrobat), Huynh Phu, Nguyen Huu Duc, Tran Nhu Thuc, Ho Hieu and Bui Van Hai.
Horrific accident in foreign land
Lu Dac Long shared: "While Indian stuntmen receive 25 USD/day, Hong Kong 50 USD/day and America 100 USD/day, Vietnamese stuntmen receive the same as American stuntmen." This made many famous stuntmen from different regions of India come to the set of Two-Faced Man to find out the reason.
The scene in Two-Faced Man caused 20 stuntmen to have an accident.
Photo: Lu Dac Long
Among the 8 Vietnamese stuntmen who went to India, many are proficient in two or more martial arts. Nguyen Quoc Thinh is good at "Binh Dinh martial arts" as well as taekwondo, spear, sword fighting and acrobatics. Huynh Phu is a 3rd degree hapkido master with beautiful moves. Bui Van Hai comes from a professional fighting background. Nguyen Huu Duc is a taekwondo and aikido fighter (1st degree in 1995) and is also proficient in the traditional martial art Tan Khanh Ba Tra. Phan Huynh Thanh Tuan is a 3rd degree karate master and a candidate for acrobatics master, along with Thanh Son, also a candidate for acrobatics master... When witnessing their performance, everyone applauded in admiration, creating a deeper connection and understanding between the stuntmen of the two countries.
Phan Huynh Thanh Tuan recounted a scene in the movie Two-Faced Man , where the stuntmen played the role of martial artists, fighting with the main character at a martial arts school. "In it, the stuntmen had to fight and fly straight up to the 6-meter high stage," said Mr. Tuan. Lu Dac Long added: "In Vietnam, we usually only let 1 or 2 people fly using human pulling power. But in this scene, the Indian side used 2 trucks parked outside to pull the cable into the martial arts school through pulleys, then tied 26 people to it." The technical problem occurred when the truck started early and pulled too hard, causing 20 stuntmen to be pulled straight, hitting the wall and the fan blades. 7 glass panels on the wall shattered, injuring 16 people, including 2 unconscious people, Bui Van Hai and an Indian stuntman.
Despite the accident, the stuntmen still tried their best to complete the scenes. After 22 days of training and filming, each person received a salary of up to 50 million VND, equivalent to the lottery jackpot at that time. (continued)
Cascadeur Lu Dac Long shared: "In Vietnam, the glasses used in falling scenes are usually made from white sugar to ensure safety. However, when going to India, the Vietnamese stuntman had to fall on real glasses, resulting in a cut on his head and having to get many stitches. After finishing the stitches, he continued to eat and continue filming."
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-cascadeur-viet-nam-dau-tien-buoc-chan-vao-bollywood-185250727214415933.htm
![[Photo] National Assembly Chairman attends the seminar "Building and operating an international financial center and recommendations for Vietnam"](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/7/28/76393436936e457db31ec84433289f72)
Comment (0)