Mukesh Rishi says his army background helped him understand the world of ‘Salakaar'
The series revolves around an Indian spy who is sent on a mission to Pakistan and navigates through his professional and personal life.
Mukesh was quite impressed by the story and hence decided to come on board. He said, 'When I heard the story, I liked it. I found it very interesting. The kind of research that director Faruk Kabir had done and the level of preparation he did made me want to work with him on this project. His professionalism and overall involvement in the project drew me to it'.
Mukesh essays the role of Pakistani military dictator, Zia-ul-Haq in the series. Zia is the bedrock of most of India's problems. He was the second Pakistani dictator after General Ayub Khan. He gave a definitive form to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's plan of 'Bleed India by thousand cuts', a thousand year war declared against India for Pakistan's own interest. Later, Zia got Zulfikar Ali Bhutto framed in a case, and got the death penalty approved for him through hand-picked judges.
Talking about his role as Zia, and how he prepared for it, he said, "I tried to do some research online. Also, I have an army background and have a little knowledge of the army. So that helped me. There was a particular get-up and dress-up. And since my character is from Pakistan, we looked at the photos available online and heard them for the mannerism part'.
When asked what element of the series he enjoyed the most, he said, 'After working for so many years, I have realized that every episode of a show should be good. The story should not be long but just brief enough for the audience to enjoy it'.
"I know almost everyone; they are very capable actors, so you get to see their influence in the series. Sometimes it is not necessary how much work we have done with them; sometimes it is about how they have done their work. So I feel they all have given their best and done a good job', he added.
Produced by Sphereorigins, 'Salakaar' is available to stream on JioHotstar.
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