Tiger Zinda Hai promises to be a hardcore action film and the firsts few glimpses say it all. Salman Khan, who reprises his role as Tiger, will be seen in some jaw-dropping action sequences, pulling off some insane stunts and wielding some of the heaviest weapons to tear down his nemesis.

MG 42, a massive machine gun as seen in the picture, is the weapon of choice for Tiger to fight his gritty battles. Apparently, shooting with the weapon didn’t come easy. The MG 42 weighs around 25-30 kg. It also has a magazine of cartridges attached to it, which makes the gun a beast of destruction.

Director Ali Abbas Zafar explains, “When you feature a superstar like Salman Khan, who is known to pull his weight for a film’s action, you need to have weaponry that suits his stature and also fit in with the scale of Tiger Zinda Hai.”

He adds, “This fight sequence is part of a very crucial chapter in the film, and the weapon needed to match the scale and impact of this moment. For this scene, Salman fired around 5000 cartridges, over 3 consecutive days. It actually becomes one of the most iconic shots of the film. Because the gun was being used continuously, we needed to keep two such weapons ready for use. It generates extreme heat and we worked in very hot conditions. We had to flip the gun continuously, and keep both in perfect functioning condition.”

Reuniting Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, Tiger Zinda Hai will release on December 22.