Arshad Warsi's memorable cameo as gangster Gafoor in the Ba***ds of Bollywood received much love from fans. The series, marking the directorial debut of Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, premiered on Netflix on September 18.
Now, Arshad Warsi has opened up about how he instantly agreed to play the role, praising Aryan Khan's vision as a director.
The actor, in a conversation on the Figuring Out with Raj Shamani podcast, shared, “Aryan called me to do The Ba***ds of Bollywood. I didn't even think it. He wanted me to do something, barely a day or 2 days' job. I said, ‘I'm done, I'm doing it.'”
He added, “Mujhe kuch sunne ki zaroorat nahi hai mujhe bas batado mujhe karna kya hai. (I don't need to listen to anything, just tell me what I need to do). He's like, ‘Sir, ek gangster ka role hai, who bails out the hero every time.' I said, ‘Done… I'm doing it!'”
Arshad Warsi also recalled an interesting anecdote from the shoot days. He revealed, “When I went for the shoot, I asked him a very simple question. I said ki, ‘Jo boat aa rahi hai jisme 4 mushkande blacks hai aur yeh kaha se aa rahi hai?' (Where is this boat, carrying 4 muscular black men, coming from?) He's like, ‘Sir yeh Somalia se aa rahi hogi.' (Sir, it might be coming from Somalia). Jaise maine suna yeh choti se boat 4 kaalon ke saath Somalia se aa rahi hai, mai samajh gaya yeh director kaisa hai. Maine kaha, done. (As soon as I heard that this small boat with four men was coming from Somalia, I understood what kind of director he is. I said, ‘Done.)'”
On a concluding note, the 57-year-old said, “So what I'm trying to say is that when you look at it as an actor, woh boat kahan se aa rahi hai (where the boat is coming from) is absolutely irrelevant. These are the directors who, when you know the story thoroughly, you're both on the same page.”
The Ba***ds of Bollywood features Lakshya Lalwani in the lead alongside Raghav Juyal, Bobby Deol, Sahher Bambba, Mona Singh, Anya Singh and Rajat Bedi, among others, in key roles.
