Latest news with #Mardaani
News18
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Tahir Raj Bhasin On Being In Special Ops 2: 'Felt Like New Boy In School, Everyone Knew Each Other'
Bhasin said it is challenging to join a popular show in its second season. Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin says he felt like the new boy in school, but everyone welcomed him warmly on the sets of Neeraj Pandey's 'Special Ops 2", which features the actor in the role of an antagonist. Bhasin broke out with the Rani Mukerji-starrer 'Mardaani" in 2014, where he played a negative role. His other notable ventures include 'Chhichhore" and 'Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein", and '83". The actor described his role of 'Collector' in 'Special Ops 2" as someone who is 'part gangster, part tech tycoon". 'It's been about 10 years since I played an antagonist. What I really enjoy about the 'Collector' in 'Special Ops 2' is that he is a rebel with a cause," Bhasin told PTI in an interview. In the second season of the show, Kay Kay Menon's Himmat Singh is tackling cyber terrorism as an AI scientist is abducted from a tech summit in the show, which was released on JioHotstar on July 18. The show also features Karan Tacker, Vinay Pathak and Muzammil Ibrahim. Bhasin said it is challenging to join a popular show in its second season. 'I felt like the new boy in school, where everyone else knew each other, but the rest of the ensemble were very warm and welcoming. Karan, in particular, was very friendly. I spent time with Kay Kay Menon off set and it was like meeting a senior from college because you know someone who has been in Bombay so much longer than you, just knows what life is about a little more," he said. 'Every conversation I would have with Kay Kay was very enlightening… What I see in Kay Kay's work is that he is always truthful and authentic to what the part is, he's not judging the character, and that's something that I hope to take forward in my work as well," he added. Which is why going head-to-head with Menon in the show felt like a big compliment for the actor. 'I gravitate towards lead parts that are disruptive… As the show unravels, you discover why he operates in certain ways, and there is an element of mystique to his character, but in his mind, he is a sort of reformer. One of the lines that has really stuck with the audience is 'I am also in the business of cyber security, just on a different side'." Bhasin said unlike conventional antagonists, his character relies completely on brains. 'If the show had been released 10-15 years ago, it would have seemed like science fiction, but in the recent past we have seen so many cyber attacks and financial attacks happen that it's all too real," he said. The actor is currently shooting for a Netflix show alongside Parineeti Chopra, which is directed by Renzil D'Silva. First Published: July 28, 2025, 17:42 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Tahir Raj Bhasin opens up about the ability to play protagonist and antagonist with equal ease
Tahir Raj Bhasin is making his mark in Indian entertainment with diverse roles. He reflects on his experiences in 'Mardaani', 'Chhichhore', and 'Special Ops'. Bhasin shares insights on working with Neeraj Pandey and never meeting Kay Kay Menon until promotions. He appreciates the success of 'Chhichhore' and newcomers in the industry. In the ever-evolving landscape of Indian entertainment, Tahir Raj Bhasin has carved out a unique space for himself—effortlessly moving between intense thrillers, emotional dramas, and sharply etched grey characters. Whether it's his breakout role in Mardaani , the brooding rebel in Chhichhore , or his latest turn in the mytho-tech thriller Special Ops , Bhasin's trajectory reflects a sharp eye for narrative and a hunger for layered characters. In Neeraj Pandey's Special Ops Season 2 he played the role of Sudheer who wants to unsettle the financial stability of India. Though the show has big names like Kay Kay Menon and Prakash Raj part of the show, Tahir's character hardly has any scenes with them which was part of his character's aura. Talking about his role he says , ' My character is a bit of a puppet master, so he is in isolation. ' Turns out that Neeraj Pandey was his closest co-star. Talking about him Tahir says , ' He's a great co-star just because he's so well-prepared… There's so much precision because he writes himself as well. So, he's very particular. If the pauses are here, then this is how you should do a man of very few words, which can be intimidating to begin with. But in a few days, you realize that you learn to sort of read between the when I spoke to other actors who'd done season one with him, ( said that if he's not saying anything means he likes what you're doing. So, I was a lot more confident working with him then. ' Interestingly, Bhasin never met co-star Kay Kay Menon on set. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Japanese AI invention allows you to speak 68 languages instantly. The idea? Genius. Enence 2.0 Undo 'It was an intentional choice not to meet KK Menon before the show started. I thought it would be more interesting to shoot without having met him because that goes more with the collector. He's never met him.' Their first meeting happened only during promotions. 'Meeting him was like meeting a college senior… someone who's just seen all the things that you're going to experience already. ' One of the major successes of Tahir's career has been Chhichhore, where he played the role of college senior Derek. THe film also starred Sushant Singh Rajput and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead. Talking about the film he said , ' Derek was cool, and he was a stud at the same time, sporty… everything an actor could ask for. Also there are rare examples of a film that gets box office success, critical acclaim and a national award and Chhichhore got all of it. Sayaara which has become the flavour of the country recently zoomed past Chhichhore's numbers at the box office. Talking about the success by newcomers like Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, he said , ' 'It's been a while since small romantic film, hit the box office… and to have newcomers who are from outside of the industry sort of navigating this wave is just simply amazing.' But what about the recurring perception of him playing roles that echo Mardaani ? 'It's actually been 10 years between Mardani and Special ops 2. And what I've had is the benefit of working with a lot of great directors like Kabir Khan in 83 to Nitesh Tiwari in Chhichore to Nandita Das in Manto. So the idea has always been to like create a mold and then break it. But one thing that always sticks with anyone in the creative pursuits is what you debut with and when you do it well.I'm very proud of Mardaani and now the thor part of film is being made, I never thought a film that I started off with would turn into a franchise. Iit takes a certain skill to play protagonist and antagonist , what my takeaway from the industry has been the ability to do a a romantic drama and an all-out thriller with the same amount of ease. (10:28) What I haven't done yet is an all-out comedy, which would be great. Up next, he steps into the world of mystery with a Netflix series starring Parineeti Chopra , directed by Rensil D'Silva. 'It's a show… and again, that's a genre that I haven't been a part of.'He also has the third season of Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein in the pipeline. Disruptive, deliberate, and deeply self-aware—Tahir Raj Bhasin continues to walk his path, one carefully chosen part at a time.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Tahir Raj Bhasin on playing a politically charged antagonist in Special Ops 2: ‘I look for lead parts that are disruptive'
In Neeraj Pandey's Special Ops 2, which recently premiered on JioHotstar, Tahir Raj Bhasin plays an antagonist, yet again. But, as always with Bhasin, there's a twist hiding somewhere. There's something about his screen presence, about his script selection, about finding the unconventional within the conventional, that always makes him rise above what's written on paper. Here, too, he might be playing a so-called villain, who just like all the villains he has portrayed, is smarter, quirkier, and more fun than the protagonist. And as with many of his past roles, his character taunts his nemesis over phone calls, constantly teasing a physical showdown. But again, with Bhasin, this isn't your regular villain. If you read between the lines, he's actually more of an anti-hero: a character who brings much-needed political depth to an already exhaustive genre of espionage. In an exclusive chat with SCREEN, Tahir Raj Bhasin breaks down his character in depth. He also talks about working with Neeraj Pandey and Kay Kay Menon, how he goes about choosing his scripts, his first-ever interaction with his on-screen idol Shah Rukh Khan, and how he always manages to be disruptive, while staying within the same mold. Excerpt edited for clarity and brevity How you go about choosing your scripts. Is there anything in particular you look for? Choosing scripts, for me, is like starting a new relationship. You have to be very picky because you live with a character for months. What matters most is: how is your character driving the story forward? Do they move the plot? For example, in Mardaani, my debut, I come in around the 27th minute, but the energy of the story shifts once I enter. Another example is Chhichhore, where my character Derek shows up close to the interval and changes the direction of the narrative. So I look for characters that are plot twists in themselves. And of course, who's directing and writing it matters a lot. I've been lucky to work with some incredible filmmakers, right from the late Pradeep Sarkar in Mardaani, to Nandita Das in Manto, Nitesh Tiwari, Kabir Khan. And even in series, I've worked with showrunners like Milan Luthria, Siddharth Sengupta, and now Neeraj Pandey. But if I had to sum it up in one line: I look for lead parts that are disruptive. You also kind of answered my next question about choosing directors. I was listening to Ranbir and Shah Rukh talk about how they look for a deep, almost romantic connection with the filmmaker. Do you relate to that? Absolutely. There needs to be synergy between the actor and the director. Sometimes you get to workshop together, and that helps with familiarization. But other times, you figure each other out during the shoot. It's then when you have to grasp the mannerisms, energy, rhythm. So yeah, it's like a platonic relationship. And it's interesting when you work on a sequel, say, like with Siddharth Sengupta on Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein 2, it's like reuniting with an old friend. You already have a shorthand, and that helps immensely. What I really liked about your character in Special Ops 2 is that he's almost a larger-than-life antagonist, almost filmy. And you've performed him with a pinch of panache, which makes him unconventional from your previous antagonists, who were rooted in realism. That's a spot-on observation. For me, Neeraj Pandey's work has always represented a blend of style with realism. The characters are pitched with realism, but there's always a stylistic way he tells the story. That really resonated with me. As I've evolved in my craft, I've realized that I want to stay grounded in realism, but not let go of the style. And when I heard the narration of The Collector, I thought it was incredible that his opening scene has him listening to classical music. That's so unusual, not what you expect from a spy-espionage thriller. That moment got me. Then his backstory, being an orphan and deprived of material possessions, gave me a window into his current behaviour. Now he hoards all the things he couldn't have. That's where his psychological makeup comes in. As you said, it's unconventional. What I liked is that he's disruptive. He's part gangster and part tech tycoon. There's a moral complexity to his character which got me thinking. It reminded me a bit of Jim from Pathaan, who was a new kind of antagonist who doesn't believe in borders and just happens to be on the other side. Yeah, that's called moral relativism in philosophy. He truly believes he's right. I love the fact that he's a guy with principles, and it's up to the audience to judge those principles. But he truly believes in them. Every time he interacts with someone, he does it through a philosophical lens. I call it 'Collector Philosophy.' Like he says at one point, 'We're both in cybersecurity, just on opposite sides.' Or when he tells the doctor character, 'I'm actually the good guy.' That's what makes him fascinating. The way he's written, it's like he's a reformer. Yeah, in a way it's borderline Nolan-esque. Derived from that kind of sensibility. That's a big comparison, but I get what you mean. As a kid, you grow up fantasizing about Batman. But when you grow up, you realize the Joker was making a lot of sense. There's a point in the show where he says something like: 'The government takes tax and fools people. I just take a little tax and run my business.' He says things the protagonist can't. He operates outside the system, while the protagonist is confined within it. Exactly. I was even thinking of writing that The Collector is the political spine of the show. He brings nuance and becomes a sort of voice of reason. You can almost imagine him becoming a character like one of Prakash Raj's, if he were in the system. Totally. And that goes back to your first question, does the character speak to the audience in a new way? The Collector does. There's a moment in the first episode where Kay Kay's character says something that sums up The Collector's entire philosophy. So, in many ways, they're two sides of the same coin. Speaking of Kay Kay Menon, can you talk to me about the phone call scene with him in the final episode, what was it like filming that? It was actually a huge challenge. Kay Kay and I shot our parts in completely different locations. I was in Georgia, and he was in Mumbai. So the performance had to land purely through voice and timing. When I finally saw the scene after the show was released, I felt it came together beautifully. I loved how both the characters complemented each other. Even our glasses were symbolic, his conventional frames vs. my large, stylized ones. It subtly hinted at generational and ideological contrast. I even called Kay Kay and said, 'Phenomenal man! We need to do something together soon.' You've played antagonists before, but never quite the same way. Still, do you worry about being typecast? That's always the challenge, to do something different, break the mold, and then move on. After a dark part like The Collector, I'll probably look for something lighter or completely different. And I love flawed characters. That's the cinema I grew up in. Think of Shah Rukh in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa or Aamir in Rangeela. Both of them were highly imperfect, yet so lovable. You've now done at least three major long-form projects. Do you think we've hit a saturation point with streaming? Recently, even Anurag Kashyap was talking about how we're heading back toward the era of bad television. I think after Sacred Games, there was this burst of experimentation. We saw shows and characters that would've never made it to Indian screens otherwise. But soon it became mass-produced, shows dropping every week. Now I think that excess is wearing off. Financing and greenlighting are getting more aligned, which I think is a good thing. It's quality control. We're moving toward more curated, higher-quality content. You've been doing this for almost a decade now. What's the most memorable compliment you've received? I remember it was from Aamir Khan, right after Mardaani. He even tweeted about it, invited me to his green room, and later called me also. That was huge, especially being new to the industry. It meant a lot. Also, after Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein, Ram Madhvani called and said he loved the performance. Coming from someone who's such a perfectionist, that really stayed with me. You're from Delhi and a Shah Rukh fan. Any stories? I remember meeting him at the screening of Fan. There's an aura when he enters the room, but he also focuses so intently when he's talking to you. He gives you his energy, and that's so rare. Since we briefly mentioned Nolan, what's your favorite Nolan film and screenplay? Hmm, as a screenplay, I think Oppenheimer was interesting. Dunkirk was also really well written. But my favorite film would have to be Interstellar. If you woke me up and said, 'Pick one Nolan film to watch in IMAX,' I'd choose Interstellar. It's so complex yet beautifully distilled. Also, it has this filmy, almost Bollywood-like heart, especially in the finale, where he goes back for love! It doesn't get more cinematic than that. Lastly, what's next for you? I'm currently working on a mystery drama with Parineeti Chopra, directed by Rensil D'Silva. It's a Netflix series, we just wrapped shooting. Also, Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein Season 3 is being written as we speak.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Vaani Kapoor opens up about surviving Bollywood as an outsider: 'Don't have chachas, chachis to root for you'
In an industry known for its close-knit cliques and family legacies, actor Vaani Kapoor spoke candidly about her journey as an outsider in Bollywood. The War actor opened up about navigating the film industry without the safety net of influential relatives or a support system. Vaani Kapoor credits Yash Raj Films for believing in her and ensuring professionalism in the industry.(PTI) 'You have to be your biggest cheerleader' In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Vaani, who started her career in 2013 with Shuddh Desi Romance along with Sushant Singh Rajput and Parineeti Chopra, said, "You have to be your biggest cheerleader in this industry. Especially when you are an outsider and don't have a support system. You don't have uncles and aunties and chachas and chachis who care for us and root for us. I'm also bad at networking." Vaani credits Yash Raj Films (YRF), the studio that launched her, for being a game-changer in her life. "The people and the studio that found me — Yash Raj — are the ones who believed in me. They've been like a family. Any actor who signs up with them will vouch for it — you feel protected, like you're in the right hands." She also touched on the industry's darker side, noting that she never experienced the casting couch — something she attributes to the professionalism and security she found at YRF. Talking about Shanoo Sharma, Vaani mentioned how she comforted her family to help them the decision to send their child to a new city and start a career in the film industry. Vaani Kapoor's latest work Vaani Kapoor is gearing up for the release of her latest project, Mandala Murders, a gripping crime thriller series in which she plays a sharp and determined investigative officer. The show, co-directed by Mardaani filmmaker Gopi Puthran and Manan Rawat, delves into a string of chilling, ritualistic murders. According to IMDb, the official synopsis reads: "In a quaint, mysterious town of Charandaspur, where fate, myth, and murder entwine, detectives Rea Thomas and Vikram Singh unravel a chilling conspiracy of ritualistic killings tied to a centuries-old secret society." The ensemble cast also includes Surveen Chawla, Vaibhav Raj Gupta, Shriya Pilgaonkar, and Jameel Khan. Mandala Murders will premiere on Netflix on July 25.
Mint
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Vaani Kapoor breaks silence on Abir Gulaal ban as actress makes OTT debut with Mandala Murders
After a successful run at the box office with Raid 2 earlier this year, Vaani Kapoor is now set to make her debut in the world of streaming with Mandala Murders. While the actor admits she is nervous about stepping into this new space, she's also thrilled to explore a longer narrative format that allows for deeper character development. 'In films, you have only two to three hours where you have to create the arc, establish it and layer out everything in that concise period of time,' Vaani explains. 'I was very intrigued coming into the long format, as it helps you explore as an actor. You get much more leverage to create more nuances, layers and get into the depth of everything.' In Mandala Murders, Vaani plays a detective - a role traditionally associated with a tough and composed image, especially for women on screen. Reflecting on her inspiration and approach to the character, she says, 'All this while, we have seen women in the thriller genre being very strong, well put together, they are assertive and have a certain demenaour. I love that and I have seen that in films like Mardaani over the years in our industry.' However, Vaani wanted to bring something different to her performance. 'I tried to make my character more real and relatable. I wanted to show not just strength but also raw vulnerability as she is fighting her own demons, while trying to be the best in what she is doing. She is a fighter from within, like how women usually are as they have so much strength,' she adds. With Mandala Murders, the actor is excited to show a new side of herself and connect with audiences through a more layered and emotionally rich portrayal.
