Mar 19, 2026 6:26pm IST
‘Dhurandhar 2’: Danish Iqbal Did A Lot Of ‘Psychological Preparation’ To Play Dawood Ibrahim: ‘All The Training And Experience I Have, I Put All That In This Role’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Amid humongous buzz, “Dhurandhar 2” hit the screens yesterday with paid previews, and since then, it has been dominating the screens across the country. While fans and cinegoers again cheer for Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt and R. Madhavan for reprising their characters, Danish Iqbal stands out for his portrayal of Bade Saab (Dawood Ibrahim).
In an exclusive interview with Variety India, Iqbal speaks about playing the underworld don and the prep that went in turning him into Dawood, “As actors, we put all our hard work, blood and soul into every work we do. But there are a few characters which create some magic on screen. So, if the character of Bade Saab or Dawood Ibrahim,is getting appreciation, it's because of the kind of detailing that went into it, apart from my performance. I'm really grateful to the audience for the love they are showering on me.”
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Danish credits Mukesh Chhabra for casting him in the role, while sharing his apprehension in the early stages, “Mukesh believed in me. He thought that I could suit the character and could pull off the difficult scenes. He suggested to Aditya (Dhar) Sir to cast me for this character and then Aditya sir agreed.”
Talking about the process of transforming into Dawood, he reveals, “When Mukesh asked me to play Dawood, I asked: Who's Dawood? Because Dawood can be anyone's name, right? After he revealed the character, I asked him ‘Are you sure?’ Because I don't look like Dawood and sometimes we actors doubt ourselves, especially when you are offered such an important character, in such a big film. But Mukesh and Aditya Dhar showed confidence in me. And then eventually, I started believing in myself and I started working on the character and the scenes. I did a lot of psychological preparation.”
The actor shares that he wasn’t afriad of the comparisons with actors who played Dawood before. “Dawood has been played by many people. Some great and famous actors have also played. But, I'm a professional actor, and if I start thinking that this character has been played by so many people and there will be comparisons, then how will I do my job? I have to concentrate and focus on my process. So, I did the same. I tried to stick to my basics. Whatever training and experience I got, I put all that into this character and the result is in front of you. Everyone is appreciative, and I'm receiving so much love.
Before "Dhurandhar 2," Danish also featured in “The Hunt,” “Faraaz,” “Maharani Season 3” and the recently released “Sankalp.”
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