"I've shown real-life terror-driven action in the film Bombay." — Moses Fernandes (Fight Master)

Fight master Moses Fernandes has choreographed action sequences in over a hundred films. His upcoming release is the film Bombay.

By Bollyy 20 May 2025 in Entertainment

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By Sharad Rai

Fight master Moses Fernandes has choreographed action sequences in over a hundred films. His upcoming release is the film Bombay. Talking about the action he’s done in Bombay, Moses shares his excitement:

Sanjay Niranjan

“I feel a special connection with this film. The writer-director of Bombay, Sanjay Niranjan, is a good friend of mine. A film doesn't become ‘big’ just because it has big stars. What matters is who the maker is, and what kind of work has been done. In that regard, Bombay is a film of my liking.”

Moses Fernandes: Action Maestro of Indian Cinema

In both Hindi and South Indian film industries, Moses Fernandes has directed action for almost all the top stars. He gained special recognition through Abbas-Mustan's thrillers like Baadshah, Soldier, Ajnabee, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Humraaz, Tarzan, Aitraaz, etc. He has worked on Rajshri Productions’ Vivah and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. Other notable films include Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Paan Singh Tomar, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster, Prabhu Deva’s Ramaiya Vastavaiya, AR Murugadoss’s Holiday, and Nitesh Tiwari’s Bhoothnath Returns. He has also worked on Criminal Justice 1 & 2 (Rohan Sippy), Maya 3, Hindi Medium, U-Turn, Chesses, 1920, Chhatrapati, Khilone, and many more he says he can’t even remember.

His first opportunity came as an assistant in Richard Attenborough’s international film Gandhi. “My very first film was an international one, where I contributed to the action scenes.” He recalls: “Although they had a technical expert team from abroad, they appreciated my work. Many times, I used to explain action sequences to them using Indian techniques. Later, I got opportunities to work on many foreign films like The Four Pavilions, Jungle Book, The Perfect Murder, and Mira Nair’s Kama Sutra.”

Moses shares a deeper connection with the film Bombay and has a friendly relationship with director Sanjay Niranjan. “Even during and after the shoot, I would often meet him. Whenever I left a film set mid-way, other stars would ask, ‘Masterji, are you shooting for Bombay?’ That’s how involved I’ve been with this film,” he laughs. “Now that it’s about to release, I hope audiences like it.”

Over the years, Moses Fernandes has had many interesting experiences working with stars during action sequences. “If I tell you one story about a star, the others might complain that I didn’t mention them. I just want to say — the stunts you see stars performing on screen, the real credit goes to our fighters and stuntmen. Many times, they get wounded repeatedly just to complete a single action scene.

I’ve personally doubled for many actors in the most dangerous stunts. I’ve been injured countless times, even stabbed with knives… But this is our profession. And we won’t reveal how ‘scared’ some stars really are — that would ruin their image,” he laughs. “This is a profession for lion-hearted people, and it’s our stunts that get applause — even though the stars take the credit.”

Moses has a distinct style in his action scenes. He’s considered a specialist in fight choreography, with expertise in: Indian wrestling (kushti), Stick fighting (lathi), Sword fights, Samurai-style action, Fencing, Boxing and kickboxing, Vehicle chases, Explosions, Hand-to-hand and gun combat

Directors often pick him first for such sequences. His latest film Bombay, is an action thriller where audiences will get to witness many unique stunts choreographed by him.

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