Ashwin Dhar aka Arshad Pappu in ‘Dhurandhar 2’ decodes how Dawood Ibrahim’s character was portrayed by Aditya Dhar

Ever since ‘Dhurandhar 2’ has released, the film has been the talk of the town. While people were yet not over ‘Dhurandhar’, the sequel released on March 19 and set the box office bells ringing. Not to mention, every character is being spoken about on the internet and one of them is Arshad Pappu. Actor Ashwin Dhar, known for his work in films like ‘D-Day’ and ‘Padmaavat’, has played this role. In a recent interview, Ashwin opened up on the film’s detailing and lauded Aditya Dhar for the way he has made the Ranveer Singh starrer. The actor said in an interview with India TV, “He began by reflecting on the ambiguity of research when it comes to real-life personalities. “There are two things about the research. I don’t know about that, maybe he was [Dawood Ibrahim]… jo bhi research huya hoga, maybe wo aise situation mein hoga. (Whatever research must have been done, maybe he was in such situations.) The second thing is, when the director is writing the script, although the situations and the characters are real, but usko ek film mein piro dena aur uske baad uss film ke narrative ko interesting banana aur wo kaise logon ke saamne laaya jaye, wo writer ka kaam hain (To weave it into a film and make the narrative engaging, and how it is presented to the audience, that is the writer’s job) jo ki Aditya Dhar ne khud hi film likhi hain (Aditya Dhar has written the film himself).”Ashwin highlighted that even though the film draws from real-world elements, the final narrative is shaped by creative interpretation. He said, “Wo uska brilliance hain ki usne dikhaya hai. Usne chahe woh character mein kitna sachcha hai, woh mujhe nahi maloom. (That is his brilliance, that he has shown it. How truthful he has been to the character, I do not know.) Woh shayad research se sach hi ho sakta hai ya nahi bhi ho sakta hai, because at the end of the day ye ek fiction hai. (It may be true due to research, or it may not be, because at the end of the day, this is fiction.) Fiction bhi hai, reality ko fiction ko mix karke ek fiction hai. (It is fiction, a mix of reality and fiction.) But ek cheez zaroor hai ki saare characters ko bahut real world mein rakha hai. (But one thing is certain, all the characters have been kept very much in the real world.) Toh Dawood ko bhi real world mein hain… (So Dawood has also been kept in the real world).”He further explained that the intention was to avoid exaggeration and instead present characters in a grounded, believable manner. “Dawood chhodiye, koi bhi gangster ho ya koi bhi ho, bada aadmi ho… bhai jab woh apne ek space mein hote hain toh real hi hote hain. (Leave Dawood aside, any gangster or any powerful person, when they are in their own space, they are real.) Really hote honge na. (They must really be like that, right?) Toh aise over the top toh ghar pe baat nahi karenge, apne logon se baat nahi karenge. (They would not talk in an over-the-top manner at home or with their people.) Toh uss zone ko Aditya ne bilkul sabko bata ke rakha tha ‘Bhai yeh sab real hai, real world hai’. (Aditya had clearly explained to everyone that this is all real, this is the real world.) Fictionalise kiya hai jo bhi storyline, woh theek hai. (The storyline has been fictionalised, that is fine.) Toh usi hisaab se Dawood ko bhi pesh kiya usne ki ek aadmi kitna vulnerable ho sakta hai. (Accordingly, he has presented Dawood in a way that shows how vulnerable a person can be.) Uss hisaab se woh vulnerability rakhi hai usne. (He has kept that vulnerability intact.) Toh woh brilliance hai (That is the brilliance.)”