Spoilers for Twisters lie ahead, so read on at your own discretion.
The recently released Twisters is one of the summer movies that has everyone saying blockbusters are back, and the receipts don’t lie. The legacy sequel blew past box office expectations and fans still seem to be buzzing about it. While the film has mostly been well received, it would seem that some have taken issue with the fate of Nik Dodani’s character. Now, the actor himself is addressing the “they did you dirty” messages from fans, and his take is quite classy.
At the start of the movie, scientist Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her research team trying to experiment with dispelling a tornado. But her storm-sniffing skills are a little too good, and they get stuck in the highest level tornado possible. One by one, her friends are stolen away by the storm and, unfortunately, Nik Dodani’s Praveen is the first to perish. A lot of fans were apparently shocked to see his character killed off so quickly and took to social media to show their sympathies. But the Dear Evan Hansen actor doesn’t want them to fret. When he took to Instagram to share some BTS pics from from the set of the blockbuster 2024 movie release, he added the following caption:
Some twisties bts. I appreciate all the ‘they did you dirty’ messages, but it was an honor to fly first 🌪️🐄🌪️
I love this cast so much, and It seems like they all had fun filming, even if only for a single scene. And Nik Dodani, you are a certified professional actor in my book for being such a good sport about your character being tornadoed in the first few minutes. Only a select group of actors can say that their character was the first to die in a blockbuster, and one gets the feeling that Dodani will wear that badge with honor.
Speaking of the spectacle, despite what the cast may have thought they were signing up for, most of the stunts done in Twisters were practical. Apparently, director Lee Isaac Chung and co. tried to use the least amount of CGI possible when creating the storms, which meant using a real jet engine to create tornado-like winds and fake debris to be whipped around. And, unlike most sets, the cast and crew actually had a real-time reference to what they were creating, as an Oklahoma storm actually blew through while they were filming and upended the set. (Mother nature wanted a real cameo, I guess.)
But maybe that’s how everyone nailed the intensity of the tornadoes in the film. The cast has been far from shy when it comes to discussing behind the scenes moments, and the opening scene is definitely one I would like to see broken down. It looked so real and intense that I was curled up in my seat watching from behind my knees. And though I could feel it coming, it was still such a shock to watch almost the entire research team get sucked into the tornado. Now, you can see all of the actors smiling faces in the post that Nik Dodani shared:
Hopefully, those memories will last the group a lifetime. And, even with his brief role in Twisters, Nik Dodani’s performance will, of course, forever be immortalized on film, which is something he can be proud of. So, for any fans that are still out of sorts over his Praveen’s quick death, try to find some comfort in that fact.
Of course, if you’re wondering where you can see Nik Dodani on your screen for longer than a few minutes, he is best known for playing Zahid on Atypical, which can be streamed with a Netflix subscription. And, if you’re like me, you can of course just buy another ticket to see Twisters again. Also, should that be your second time screening it in theaters, let me suggest watching it in 4DX for a wildly different experience.