Arjun Rampal 'wanted to get out of' his Dhurandhar character of brutal ISI Major quickly: 'Felt horrible doing it'
Arjun Rampal, who plays a brutal ISI Major in Dhurandhar, says he felt horrible doing some of the things his character does.
Even as Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna may be reaping acclaim for Dhurandhar, Arjun Rampal has earned praise for his performance as an ISI Major, too. The actor shed his glam look to play a brutal ISI officer masterminding terror operations from Pakistan. In a new interview, the actor discussed the challenges of portraying such a complex antagonist.
Arjun Rampal opens up on Dhurandhar role
In a new interview with Grazia, Arjun talked about playing Major Iqbal in the Aditya Dhar film. “I wanted to get out of the character as soon as I could. One of the important reasons to do it was because it is an important film to do. To see the event is one thing, but what happened behind the scenes to see those events taking place is something that would excite me as an audience,” said Arjun.
The actor added that he felt bad doing what his character what os on screen, but said he took it as just another job. “I felt horrible when you’re doing it because you love your country so much, but I guess that’s what an actor’s job is, and you just dive into it,” added Arjun.
Arjun’s character, Major Iqbal, plays an ISI official in Dhurandhar, who is shown to be the handler for the 26/11 attackers. His role in the attack and other terror attacks on India has created quite a buzz for the film.
Dhurandhar 2
Dhurandhar is a spy thriller directed by Aditya Dhar with Ranveer playing an Indian spy in Pakistan. Akshaye Khanna stars as a Pakistani gangster, Sanjay Dutt plays Karachi SP Chaudhary Aslam, and R Madhavan portrays the Indian intelligence chief. Arjun will reprise his role in Dhurandhar 2, which concludes the story of Ranveer’s Hamza aka Jaskirat. Part 2 releases in theatres on March 19, 2026.
