Half the junior artists in Phantom came from extremist militant organisations like Hezbollah, says Saif Ali Khan

Shooting in Beirut for Phantom, director Kabir Khan had to recruit many of his junior artists from militant groups such as the Hezbollah, says the film's lead actor, Saif Ali Khan.

"I asked one of the guys with whom I was doing action in Beirut, 'What do you do?' and he replied, 'I am from the Hezbollah'," Saif says. "I was like, 'Shit, wow'. Half the junior artists in the film were some kind of extremists and militants whom Kabir had met somewhere. I was just hoping that nobody shots us!"

The actor describes Beirut as "like someone has bombed Lokhandwala." He adds: "Half the buildings were blown away, so we couldn't put up the sets we needed, which made outdoor shoots a necessity. Beirut might once have been a beautiful city, but now it is in a miserable condition. A statue outside our hotel had bullet holes, so did our hotel walls. Parts of the city were not rebuilt at all, but there is something amazing about Beirut's people."

Phantom is a story based on crime journalist Hussain Zaidi's novel, The Mumbai Avengers. The film is about a former army officer on a mission to kill the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.