Aditya Dhar's much-anticipated film Dhurandhar is set to release in theatres on December 5. The film features a massive ensemble cast, with Ranveer Singh in the titular role along with Sara Arjun, Arjun Rampal, Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi and several others. In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, Rakesh Bedi who plays Jameel opened up about his character, the film's scale, and why he believes Dhurandhar is set to raise the bar for action dramas.
Speaking about his role, Rakesh described Jameel as someone who thrives on control and manipulation. He said, "He is a slum lord. He knows how to remain in power and he pulls his strings. He is handling a lot of people. He is handling all the goons very well. He is handling all the politicians also."
Explaining the darker shades of the character, he added, "Everything he does diplomatically - by hook or by crook - he knows how to pull the string. He doesn't shy away from killing a person with a smile on his face. So that's the kind of character in play."
Rakesh also spoke about the shooting for Dhurandhar. The actor said, "I have done shooting for a long stretch. I shot for almost 40 days. The film was shot for over, I think, 155-160 days."
On the film's high-octane visual appeal, he said, "I think a lot of heat will be generated by the action in this film. That's what I feel - there will be next-level action."
Praising the technical team, he added, "The action director and the DOP are fantastic. And the director, Dhar, is next level."
Rakesh recalled his shooting experience and said, "Shooting experience kamaal ka tha. (It was a great shooting experience.) A new bar has been raised. It will be difficult to break for a long time. Jaise 70s mein Sholay aayi thi and ek naya bar raise kiya tha and people had to struggle to keep up with that level. (Just like Sholay came in the 70s and raised a new bar, and people had to struggle to match that level.) That's the kind of feeling I get about this film."
When asked whether any actor overshadowed another in such a large cast, Rakesh dismissed the idea. "This is a multi-starrer film. I don't think one actor overshadowed another. Aditya is a very strong-willed man."
He continued, "His script was so good. When we first heard the narration - he gave the narration to almost 100 people at one go. Not like narrations given separately to actors. Everybody was there: from Sanjay Dutt to Ranveer to myself and Arjun Rampal."
The narration itself seems to have left a lasting impression on the cast. "It was a great narration. That narration was almost two and a half hours. We enjoyed it so much. Everybody clapped after the narration finished. There were quite a lot of people. It was audio-visual also. We really enjoyed it. Every role is well-defined and cut out as per every actor's image or personality," added Rakesh.
The actor also shared an interesting real-life incident that made him confident about the film's box-office appeal. He said, "A few days ago, I landed in Mumbai from Kolkata at 5:30 a.m. I went to book a cab. A man approached me, recognised me from the trailer, and said, 'I will watch Dhurandhar. The trailer looks fantastic.'"
He further added, "That is the reaction I got. I haven't seen such a reaction from people about films. Normally, there is publicity. What I like about the confidence of the production house is that they are not sending the stars anywhere to any platform to boost the film."
He concluded saying, "They are just holding their horses wherever they are and thinking that the audience will lap up everything. Let's hope for the best."
As per reports, Dhurandhar has a runtime of over 3 hours and will be released in two parts, with the second part arriving in 2026. However, the makers are yet to confirm these details.