Who is Bade Sahab? This question had been on our minds since Aditya Dhar and Ranveer Singh’s film Dhurandhar arrived in theatres last year. When the sequel, Dhurandhar The Revenge released last week, fans finally got the answer. The curtain was raised and actor Danish Iqbal was introduced as fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim aka Bade Sahab. This was the first spoiler from the film which surfaced online. Ever since then, the internet has been gushing over Danish and his performance. In an interview with HT City, the actor shared, “I got a call from Mukesh Chhabra ji’s office regarding the project, whether I will be willing to do it or not. I said, ‘Why not?’ I mean, Dawood Ibrahim’s character is so strong, why would I refuse it? Isliye maine aankh jhapakte hi haan bola. Lekin jab sab kuchh ho gaya toh phir saare itihaas meri aankhon ke saamne se guzra. Mujhe laga yeh kaafi zimmedaari ka kaam hai iss character ko karna. Many legendary actors have done it in the past. Toh logo ki expectations hongi. I was a little worried also, whether I will be able to live up to their expectations or not. But, aap sabke saamne hai, aur jo pyaar mil raha hai woh dekh ke main bohot kritagya hun.”
But how did he keep this a secret for so long? Danish shared, “Bohot saare aise secrets hote hain jinko rakhna padhta hai. Aur yeh usme se ek tha. Isko rakhna zaroori tha and it’s a part of our job to keep the secrecy connected to the film, the plot and the stories so that people enjoy when they watch the film. So everytime when people were messaging me, texting me, ‘You are playing Dawood, is Dawood Bade Sahab, are you Bade Sahab?’ I used to tell them, ‘Just wait for 19th of March, everything will be there.”
Before it was revealed that Danish is Bade Sahab, there were rumours of Salman Khan or Emraan Hashmi playing the role. These rumours briefly left Danish wondering if he had been replaced. Talking about the same, the actor explained, “Koi bhi news ho ki result nikla hai, toh aap pehele sochenge, ‘Fail toh nahi ho gaya?’ It comes to your mind. So there is insecurity. Mujhe maloom tha maine shoot kiya hua hai, toh replace hone ka toh sawal hi nahi uthta. Jitna main Aditya sir ko jaanta hun, jitna cinema ko jaanta hun, jitna abhi tak kaam kiya hai, uske aadhar par main yeh keh raha hun. Lekin yeh ho sakta tha ki Bade Sahab ka character hi koi aur ho. Dawood Ibrahim hi Bade Sahab hai yeh toh pata hi nahi tha mujhe actually. Yeh baad mein pata chala. Jab logo ne khojna shuru kiya toh maine bhi khojna shuru kiya.”
Somewhere in the back of his mind, the actor did think that he was Bade Sahab, because of his get-up and the prosthetics. But when Danish heard the rumours, he thought it could be a whole new character. When asked if he was as doubtful about who is Bade Sahab as the audience, Danish laughed and replied, “Haan haan! Actor toh aur zyaada insecure hota hai, inn cheezon ko leke.”
Well, now we know that Danish Iqbal is Bade Sahab, and audiences couldn’t have been happier!
