Come January, Kangana Ranaut will begin prep for her first contemporary action film, Dhaakad. To do justice to her mean killing machine act, the actor will train in Krav Maga — the military self-defence form that was originally developed for the Israel Defence Forces — and hand-to-hand combat.

Director Razneesh Ghai, who aims to give Bollywood its first female-led actioner with Dhaakad, has charted out a 45-day training for his leading lady. "Manikarnika was a period film that had Kangana training with swords. But since Dhaakad is a contemporary movie, the style of action is different. She will have to undergo a six-week programme — besides learning hand-to-hand combat and Krav Maga for two weeks each, she will dedicate a fortnight to learn how to use guns. A team of stunt directors from Thailand will train her."