Danish Pandor Recalls Shooting For Dhurandhar ‘Haunting’ 26/11 Mumbai Attack Scene: Didn’t Judge Character… | EXCL

Dhurandhar is an espionage thriller that highlights various real-life incidents, including the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks. Theatres went silent when the actual audio recording revealing the conversation between terrorists and handlers was played. In an exclusive interview with Zoom, Danish spoke about the scene and how it haunted him during the filming.

Danish Pandor on Dhurandhar’s 26/11 Mumbai Attack scene

Danish, who played Uzair Baloch in Dhurandhar, said, “I was taken aback. When we were shooting this scene where Major Iqbal is talking to the handlers, and then we got to hear the real audio recording, which was also shown in the film, it was shattering. I couldn’t imagine what people must have been through. It was disheartening. You feel emotional at that time. When you’re hearing the news, it is a different thing and listening to an actual audio note, you actually understand how nasty it was.”

The actor added, “As far as I am concerned, I had to hide that rage while shooting for that scene. I can feel offended and disturbed, but my character would not feel the same because he belongs to the other side. I was disheartened listening to that. Even the cinema halls went silent when that audio played.”

Not judging character

When asked if he judged Uzair’s actions and ethics, Danish shared, “An actor’s job is not to judge the character’s actions. For Uzair Baloch, arms and ammunition trading and extortion are daily activities. If I, as Danish, keep Uzair outside of me and judge him, I can never play the part. Mera kaam hai acting karna. If I start judging, I will never be able to do justice to the role. If Uzair Baloch is in front of me and I judge him for his ethics, there will be mental and physical conflict. I had a third-party perspective and understood that this is a part of his job. I have to just include myself in that. I believe he had an amazing aura. If you see his interviews, what a sharp man. The way he would carry his words, without hesitation and inhibition. Even during the workshop, Aditya (Dhar, director) sir told us not to do anything over-the-top. It had to be subtle and feel like everything is coming with a thought. Every word that comes is on point. He wanted us to have clear thoughts and understand the motive behind every scene. He gave us breathing space and creative liberty to perform, and an actor always wants that.”

Dhurandhar also stars Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi, Sara Arjun, Saumya Tandon and many others.