Unlike the star-studded cast of the two-part crime saga, which includes Ranveer Singh, Ashaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal and Sanjay, Iqbal may not be a recognizable face, but the actor has been a part of several acclaimed projects like OTT shows “Maharani”, “Aranyak”, “The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case” and films “Bhakshak” and “Haq”.
Iqbal said that following the reveal of the character, the audience’s curiosity focused on what Ibrahim looks and sounds like now, rather than the person behind the don character.
“The way everything was created, the world of that character, when people saw it, they forgot what actor it was. They started focusing on the character itself.”
And that’s the beauty that when a character is properly brought to life on screen, people appreciate the art more than glorifying the actor’s personality. They start to like the character.
The recognition I received for my talent as an actor became more important.
Dhurandhar: revenge features Singh as Jaskirat Singh Rangi, a young man who transforms into undercover agent Hamza Ali Mazari operating deep in Pakistan.
The sequel charts Mazari’s rise in Karachi’s underworld while tracing the origins of the man behind the cover.
Indian filmmakers have long been fascinated by Ibrahim, each offering their own vision of the Don on screen.
One of the most portrayed figures in Hindi cinema, Ibrahim has been portrayed both directly and through characters inspired by films such as Ram Gopal Varma’s “Company” and Anurag Kashyap’s “Black Friday”, where Vijay Maurya played him by name.
Hashmi also played the professor in “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai”, while late film star Rishi Kapoor played him in Nikkhil Advani’s “D-Day”.
Iqbal said he deliberately refrained from thinking about other representations of the gift of the underworld.
“I was worried about being trapped in that circle, having to portray the image of the character. But then I forgot that this is the name of a character that has a reference in front of us. And all the actors who have played him because then I wouldn’t have been able to play this role.”
