4 min readNew DelhiMar 20, 2026 11:46 AM IST
Dhurandhar The Revenge is out in theatres and much like the prequel, the casting of this film is getting a lot of praise from the audience. The film has rewritten box office records and there is a lot of curiosity of how reel life will reflect real life in the film as it is ‘inspired’ by recent events between India andPakistan.
SPOILER ALERT
The film sees a character inspired by the former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, called Nawab Shafiq, and here, actor Mashhoor Amrohi is playing that role. In a new interview, Mashhoor shared that when he was initially called for an audition, he read the lines for Major Iqbal’s character, who would eventually be played by Arjun Rampal. Mashhoor opened up about his first meeting with director Aditya Dhar and shared that the director was very clear about his mission of making this film.
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‘Aditya Dhar said this story portrays India’s retaliation’
In a chat with CNN-News 18, Mashhoor said that he was not familiar with the political landscape of Pakistan and recalled that when he first met Dhar, he told him very clearly that this film, in its essence, was to show how Pakistan has, for years, conducted many terrorist activities in India. He shared, “The first interaction I had with Aditya Dhar was about a small synopsis of what this film was all about. So he mentioned something about, ‘We are all very upset with the way attacks have taken place in India, Mumbai, all over our country. The Pulwama attacks, Mumbai attacks, 26/11 etc and we all know who the perpetrators of these crimes are but there’s also an angle to this that not many people are aware of’.”
Mashhoor said he was “very intrigued” by this and added, “Within a span of two minutes he told me, when you hear about certain incidents that take place in our neighbouring country, how are they done and what causes them and what is the aim or effect of these incidents that take place. So this film is primarily about portraying that side of the story and our sense of retaliation, our comeback or if you may say so in terms of seeking a certain sense of retribution for the heinous crimes that have taken place on our land to our people.”
Mashhoor Amrohi auditioned for Major Iqbal
Mashhoor said that when he was initially called in to audition by Mukesh Chhabra’s casting company, he was given Major Iqbal’s lines. “He asked me to come in for an audition for Major Iqbal. I mean the lines I read were Major Iqbal’s. They were also aware of my Urdu being slightly polished,” he said and added that he wasn’t asked to audition for Nawab Shafiq separately.
“I didn’t audition for Nawab Shafiq at all and Mr Dhar saw that. And my first meeting when we were discussing this film and he was giving me a synopsis of the germ of this idea of this film. I asked him, ‘Sir, Why me? How do you see me as Nawab Shafiq?’ And in his very beautiful self contained humble self he said, ‘You are a performer’ and I was so happy,” he recalled.
Talking about studying the character he was assigned, he said that he watched a few speeches to see the body language and mannerisms of the former Pakistan PM. After they tried a look with a bold cap, they found that the character needed more and that’s when the prosthetics came in.
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About Dhurandhar 2
Dhurandhar The Revenge has been in theatres for just a day and is already creating history at the box office. The film has earned Rs 236.63 crore worldwide on opening day. Alongside Ranveer Singh, the film stars Rakesh Bedi, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal and R Madhavan.
This article provides factual entertainment analysis and behind-the-scenes insights regarding film casting and production; it is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute a political endorsement or verified historical record.
