Faruk Kabir Cast Mukesh Rishi In Salakaar Without A Look Test

News18

09-08-2025

Director Faruk Kabir cast Mukesh Rishi as Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 'Salakaar' without a look test. The series is a period spy drama set in the 1970s and 2025.
Director Faruk Kabir, whose recently released streaming series 'Salakaar', has shared that he did not do the look test of actor Mukesh Rishi before casting him as the antagonist.
'Salakaar' is a period spy drama-thriller, and alternates between two timelines, the 1970s and 2025. It follows the story of an Indian spy, who is tailing the nuclear weapon development in India's arch-nemesis, Pakistan.
Mukesh Rishi essays the role of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the Pakistani dictator, who escalated his country's atomic bomb project.
Faruk spoke with IANS, and said that he was more than confident on casting Mukesh Rishi for the role of Zia, and how he would fit the part.
Talking about the same, Faruk told IANS, 'I would like to say two things about Mukesh sir's casting, we didn't do Mukesh sir's look test because I was very sure it's going to be him, who will play Zia. I had decided We didn't do anything before we finalised him. We did the look test after the confirmation and the paperwork".
'And the second thing, we even asked for a mojadi for Mukesh sir. The mojadi was such that whenever he would walk, it would make a chirping sound. And, he would feel it while walking And the whole set would feel it", he added.
Zia-ul-Haq 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.
His political actions are largely responsible for the current day geo-political tensions in southeast Asia. He instituted industrialisation and deregulation, which significantly improved Pakistan's economy. In 1979, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Zia adopted an anti-Soviet stance and aided the Afghan mujahideen. He bolstered ties with China and the United States.
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First Published:
August 09, 2025, 13:40 IST
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